More Than Just a War
by 12HockeyChick21
Summary: Set 12 years before present day Overwatch, this story follows Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes as the main characters in their lives as soldiers and leaders during the Omnic Crisis. Can they and their friends and co-workers still live normal lives while on an army base with enemies and possible battles lurking around every corner? Many ships, including one with an OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Characters and Their Ages *In Order of Appearance**

**Gabriel Reyes- 46**

**Jack Morrison- 43**

**Bek Luxton- 22 (OC)**

**Genji Shimada- 23**

**Mercy/Angela Ziegler- 25**

**Pharah/Fareeha Amari- 20**

**Jesse McCree- 25**

**Ana Amari- 48**

**Moira O'Deorain- 36**

**Reinhardt Wilhelm- 49**

**Torbjörn Lindholm- 45**

**Sojourn Rose- age unknown**

**Gérard Lacroix- age unknown**

**Doomfist/Akande Ogundimu- 33**

**Baptiste/Jean-Baptiste Augustin- 24**

**Sombra/Olivia Colomar- 18**

**Alex Hope- 19 (OC)**

**Luisa Reyes- 51 (OC)**

**POSSIBLY MORE TO COME**

**Also would like to note that this is obviously not canon, as it is... fanfiction lol. So any errors in lore that I make, I apologize, hopefully there is nothing too glaring. I'm trying my best to be as realistic as possible here, but if you notice anything, please let me know! I hope you enjoy! **

**Now, let's get into this.**

* * *

P.O.V. Of Gabriel

"Huff!" I grunted as I fought my training partner, blocking punches from him. I attempted to throw some of my own, but he dodged cleanly. Before I could even react, I was knocked off my feet by a swipe of my training partner's leg. The next thing I knew, I was on my back, staring up at the bright blue eyes that were filled with laughter.

"I think you may be getting a bit rusty there, Gabe." He laughed, offering me his hand to help me up. I took the help and rolled my eyes as he pulled me to my feet.

"Shut up. And don't-"

"Don't call you Gabe, whatever you say." He winked and pulled me closer by my shirt collar. I smirked as he pressed his forehead to mine.

"Don't give me attitude, Boy Scout." I murmured.

"You call me Boy Scout, I call you Gabe." He whispered back, moving to kiss me.

"Strike Commander Morrison!" A voice stopped him and we both pulled away from each other. We turned to see the face of some still semi-new recruit that I had yet to even learn the name of. The young woman looked at us with a surprised gaze and Morrison cleared his throat, putting on that formal face of his.

"What is it, Soldier 121? I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name…"

"Uh, it's Bek, Sir. Bek Luxton… and Ana sent me to come tell you that someone is here to see you. I hope I didn't… interrupt anything." She stammered, embarrassed.

"Of course not, I was just schooling Commander Reyes here in some practice training." Jack laughed.

"Bah, it was just a lucky shot. Nice to finally meet the new cadet. I didn't know you came from the SEP." I stuck out my hand to her and she shook it, dipping her head at me respectfully.

"Yes, you too, Commander Reyes."

"What sector are you from?" I asked.

"North Eastern, New York's section specifically." She replied with a friendly smile.

"You'd know all that if you'd paid attention at Tuesday's meeting." Jack groaned.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be, Jack?" I teased.

"Yeah, yeah, bite me, Gabe. Why don't you go check on Genji and McCree?"

"Jack," I called out, stopping him from walking away. I turned him back around, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Meet me in the mess hall for dinner at six?" I asked with a smirk.

"Sure, now I gotta go. See you later. Love you." He gave me a quick peck, obviously not wanting to make the new cadet uncomfortable.

"Yup, you too." I replied and watched him and the cadet go.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised about Bek's appearance. She was a soldier from the United States' Soldier Enhancement Program, or SEP, like Jack and I had been, yet she seemed surprisingly small. Maybe she wasn't completely through with her treatments, but I doubted that since they had already sent her here to Overwatch. Perhaps the program was trying a round of something different, fresher. I probably should have been paying attention in that meeting… I shook my head and started off to find the other members of my squad, Genji Shimada and Jesse McCree. Blackwatch was a still a somewhat recent part of Overwatch and I still wasn't certain about it's use…

Both Jesse and Genji were my only members so far and they were still young. I had given Jesse an ultimatum after we busted him during a sting operation: either join Overwatch or go to prison. The Deadlock Gang member chose to join us and he was the first to come into my covert ops division. As for Genji, well, he was a pretty quiet kid with a messed up past. All I really knew was that his father was the leader of a powerful Japanese gang and Genji had done enough to anger his father to the point where he sent Genji's own brother after him. After a fight with his older brother left him near death, our doctor Angela Ziegler had saved his life. Pretty sure the kid had developed a major case of Rescue Romance because he now was totally in love with her. Too bad Angela didn't seem interested in him, or anyone for that matter… The twenty-five year old doctor seemed to be married to her work. Perhaps it was for the best. Jack and I would never tell the others they couldn't date, since that would be hypocritical, but it was difficult sometimes with how stressful things could be. Jack was worth it though. We were both better with each other. I knew it and Jack loved to remind me of that. He was such a fucking sap.

I found Genji in the first place I looked, the hospital wing, just leaving Angela's office. I knew it was the best place to check first.

"Everything looks great, Genji. You must stop worrying so much." Angela bustled the part cyborg, part human out of her office gently.

"I am sorry, Angela… I am still trying to get used to my new body." Genji stated.

"It's understandable. I'm sorry, I don't know how else I can help. I'll do some more research, I promise." Angela assured him before returning to her office. Genji sighed at the door closing in his face. I took that moment of awkward silence to clear my throat. Genji turned and rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, the only remaining human appendage he had left. As I looked at him, I felt that familiar pang of sympathy. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to live the way Genji had to live now, not feeling completely human ever again…

"Oh, hello Commander."

"Sorry to… overhear, but if I could just put in my two cents," I said carefully, "she's not interested. I'm sorry, just thought I'd share from an outsider's perspective. She's far too focused on her work…"

"Perhaps you're right…" Genji sighed and looked downcast, but only for a moment before his look of sadness turned to a look of panic.

"_Kuso! Ryū!_"

"What?" I asked, of course because I did not speak Japanese.

"My katana, I took it from my back so Angela could examine me. I must get it." He turned around and opened Angela's door without knocking, which in hindsight, probably would have been a better thing to do. I mean, I didn't exactly blame the kid since he had just been in there so how could he have expected that Angela was not alone for what we saw upon the door swinging open.

Angela was kissing Fareeha Amari, Overwatch's Captain Ana Amari's daughter, also known as Pharah.

"_Nani?_" Genji's eyes held shock.

"_Dios Mío!_" I added. Fareeha and Angela broke apart, the older blonde doctor's cheeks going bright red.

"Oh! Genji, I-"

"Say nothing. I only needed to retrieve my blade…" Genji spat, swiping his weapon. I was shaken from my surprise when Genji's metal shoulder bumped into my body as he pushed past.

"Shimada, wait!" I called after him and gave chase. He probably wouldn't have stopped if he hadn't almost ran straight into our third member, Jesse McCree.

"Whoa, slow down there, robocop. What's got ya in a rush?" The cowboy asked, fixing his hat.

"It is nothing McCree, please let me pass." He huffed, but this interaction caused enough of a pause for my old ass to catch up.

"Oh my God, McCree… at the risk of sounding completely like an overdramatic teenage girl… you'll never believe what we just saw!" I struggled to catch my breath and Jesse snickered at me.

"Try me, Boss…"

"Angela was kissing Fareeha!"

"What?! Mercy and Pharah? Daaaaamn haha. The Japanese playboy gets played!" Jesse laughed. Just like a flash of lightning, Genji was suddenly holding him up to the wall with his katana to the older's throat, eyes blazing with anger.

"I do not get played… and I am no longer, as you small minded Americans say, a playboy. I am not the man I was before my brother tried to murder me. Perhaps I am no longer even a man." Genji growled. I pulled him away from Jesse.

"Stop it you two, please! _Dios_, all I wanted was to see if you two were keeping up with training, not to uncover some dramatic shit. God dammit, I'm done for the night. Someone else can tell Captain Amari that her daughter is with a female doctor who is five years her senior." I threw my hands up in frustration, but Jesse stood up straight and fixed his hat again.

"Don't you think that's somethin' Pharah should tell her momma herself? I mean, would you have liked it if someone had told your madre that you were gay before you were ready to tell her yourself?" He asked and I glared at him.

"First of all, I'm bisexual, not gay. And for the record I- oh shit." I cut myself off as I realized that I had never told my mother… or any of my family.

"What?" Jesse looked confused.

"I… I never told my- oh, it doesn't fucking matter. Point is, stop being violent with each other unless it's for training purposes only. Even then, don't maim each other for God's sake… we have to at least try to get along."

They were both silent for a few moments after I said this, just staring at me blankly. Then, Jesse turned to Genji and spoke up, obviously in a weird attempt to try and comfort the younger.

"Well, if it's any consolation… at least now you know for sure that your love for Mercy is unrequited and that she can't reciprocate." He offered. Genji just shook his head, so Jesse tried something else.

"Uh… I hear there's a cute new cadet."

Genji scoffed at this and said something in Japanese before walking away. Jesse and I watched him go, an air of slight awkwardness between us.

"Wow man… that's rough." Jesse murmured. I just grunted, so he continued, "Well, uh… I was gonna go train with the others if you want to-"

"No, I need a minute to think." I replied without even letting him finish.

"I getcha, so… I guess I'll be seeing ya later, Boss?"

"Yes, I'm sure Jack will call some sort of meeting this evening after dinner. I'll check with him beforehand and let you know, of course."

"Rightyo, see ya 'round."

Jesse ducked out of sight, probably relieved to get out of there. I couldn't really blame him. I needed time alone to process my thoughts as well… like the fact that I had never come out to a single member of my family and I had been with Jack for over… wow. Fifteen years. Granted, we were soldiers part of a very important team during a very important war, but I guess I just hadn't realized how much time had just flown by. It was only natural for me to not pay attention to the more trivial details during situations of high stress.

I shook my head as I went back to our room to shower. That was a bad way of wording that. Jack and the relationship we had was definitely not trivial. I was glad that hadn't slipped out while I was talking to him. I made a mental note to be sure that would never let that slip.

**A.N.: Part 1 complete! I hope you enjoyed, please leave a review telling me what you thought. This is a WIP, but I have Parts 2-7 complete if people are interested! And if you like this, feel free to check out my other stuff, but the only other Overwatch work I have is a Reaper short over on Wattpad under the same name as this account. Thanks everyone! Can't wait to hear what you think! :) ~12HockeyChick21**


	2. Chapter 2

P.O.V. Of Jack

"Hello Jack, glad you could make it." My second in command, Captain Ana Amari greeting me as Bek and I approached her and a redhead woman.

"Hello Ana, of course." I then turned to Bek, "Soldier… go find Reinhardt Wilhelm or Torbjörn Lindholm and tell them that I want you to shadow them around the base to learn where everything is and get some training in."

"Yes, Strike Commander." Bek dipped her head and scampered off, leaving me with Ana and this new woman.

"Now, who is this?" I asked.

"Moira O'Deorain, chemist, genetics prominently. Pleased to meet you." Moira offered me an outstretched hand, so I shook it.

"As in the Doctor O'Deorain that published the controversial paper on altering DNA…?" I questioned, but before Moira could respond, Ana called out.

"Gabriel! Ah, since you're here, come meet our visitor!" She waved. I furrowed my brow and turned to see my partner striding over.

"Hello…" He greeted curtly, shaking her hand.

"This is Moira O'Deorain, Moira this is Commander Gabriel Reyes of Blackwatch." I added. Moira looked intrigued.

"Blackwatch?" She questioned.

"Oh, I'm here! My apologies, I'm here!" We all glanced over once again to see our doctor, Angela Ziegler, rushing over to us, looking a bit frazzled. I saw a look pass between her and Gabe before she fixed her hair. I rose an eyebrow at my partner and I could tell that he would talk to me about it later. Moira and Angela stared at each other for a moment.

"Moira…"

"Angela…"

"You two know each other?" I asked.

"I know of her work… I tried to recreate her claims from her paper and could not do so… I have come to tell you not to let her join Overwatch, Strike Commander Morrison…" Angela stated firmly.

"Yes, I understand… perhaps it would be a risky choice." I put my hand on my chin, deep in thought.

"Can't I give an argument?" Moira questioned, voice frustrated.

"You do genetics and DNA research correct…?" Gabe asked suddenly.

"Yes, and perhaps your doctor cannot recreate my work because she lacks the proper knowledge. I can be of assistance to you."

"I would really rather you didn't…" Angela replied, glaring at the older doctor.

"What do you think, Commander Reyes?" I looked to my partner. He had his own face of deep thought and I swore I could see the gears turning in his head.

"I want her to join Blackwatch."

"What?" Angela and I said in sync, me more so out of surprise, Angela out of what sounded like anger.

"I want to learn about genetics and whatever else her research is. I mean, come on Jack… that's basically what the SEP is. She could be onto something, so I think we should give her a chance." Gabe said.

"Alright, fine... We'll see how things go. But if we could keep her… employment on the down low for now. Oh, and Moira… we keep Blackwatch quiet as well."

"I can work with that…" Moira smiled and shook Gabe's hand. I sighed and looked at Angela.

"Would you mind showing her around?"

"Yes, I would mind." She sniffed and walked away. I put my face in my hands and groaned before looking back at Ana.

"Yes, I'll do it." She said without me even having to ask.

"Thank you, Ana." I replied gratefully. My Captain nodded and led Moira away. I watched them go for a moment before turning to face Gabe.

"Do I even want to know what that was all about?" I asked him. Gabe ran a hand through his hair, an exhausted look on his face.

"You may not even believe me if I told you." He groaned, sounding as tired as I felt. I gave him as look of empathy and massaged his shoulders.

"Did something happen?"

"When I went to go find Genji and Jesse, I went looking for Genji first. So, of course I started at Angela's office because obviously…"

"Obviously." I agreed with him, a bit of laughter in my tone.

"Well, Genji was being gently… pushed out of her office, but he forgot his katana. Poor kid just wanted to get his weapon back, so he went to go back inside, thinking nothing of it. But when he opened the door, there Angela was, making out with Fareeha." Gabe explained. I couldn't help but gasp and it probably sounded really gay…

"No way! Angela and Fareeha? I had no idea!"

"Me either! And obviously neither did Genji. We both were foored. I think I just stood there with my mouth open like an idiot."

"Oh man, poor Genji… do you think Ana knows?" I wondered aloud.

"I have no clue… but it's not our place to out Fareeha." Gabe grunted.

"I know, but honestly, Ana may already know… Mothers have some sort of sixth sense about that when it comes to their kids. My mom knew that I was gay before I gained the courage to tell her." I explained.

"Really?" Gabe paused, "Do you think... My mother knew about me?"

I shrugged before taking his hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Maybe, but don't feel like that means she thought any different of you or that you should have told her. You honestly could go your whole life without telling anyone and just go about your daily life the way you want to. Let them figure it out like you do with most people we meet. You seem to be pretty good at the apathy thing so, yeah… just be you."

"Well said." Gabe stated simply before pulling me close. I pressed my forehead to his with a sigh.

"Thanks…"

"I love you." Gabe's voice was a bit gravelly, but still somehow soft and caring. I found myself thinking of my own mother now since I had mentioned her.

"Do you ever wonder what it's like to be a parent?" I asked. Gabe chuckled, kissing me gently.

"I think I'm a little too old for kids… besides, I want to be with you and I think we have a bit of a biological issue when it comes to making babies."

"I guess so… but you said you want to be with me, so would you want kids with me?" I poked at him teasingly.

"Why? Can you suddenly carry babies?" Gabe smiled, playfully prodded me in the abdomen.

"No, but you're the one who decided to hire the crazy genetics scientist. Maybe she can create a baby for us." I said, half joking.

"I think we should follow the stereotypical direction of life, so we'd have to get married first." Gabe stated plainly. I pulled away from him, looking at him with surprise.

"Was that your form of a proposal? Because fifteen years is a fucking long time to wait." I exclaimed. Gabe flashed me one of those sexy and mysterious grins of his.

"Maybe…" He wiggled his brows and kissed me once more. I laughed and rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh how romantic."

"I didn't think you really cared much about romance, Boy Scout." He teased.

"No, that's you, Gabe."

"Perhaps." He chuckled. "Do you want to dinner off the base instead?"

"Sounds like a plan, I just have some other stuff to do before then." I told him and Gabe nodded.

"Yeah, I wanted to shower. I'll text you the details on where to meet." He gave me one last peck before walking away coolly. I sighed as I watched him go. I loved Gabe and had known him for almost twenty years, so I knew that romance was not his strong suit. It had taken him forever to admit his feelings, so we had only been officially together for fifteen of those years, though we had had strong feelings for each other almost immediately. Our situation when we had met in the SEP was a bit complicated, so that didn't help either. We weren't really obsessed with the labels of course because we had a war to focus on. It was a tad disappointing though because I was in fact a romantic, but I cared about Gabe so much that I didn't mind. There were so many things that I loved about him and we were like each other's better half, we worked so well together. I knew I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life.

* * *

A little but of time later, I was fixing my tie before walking into the restaurant Gabe had sent me the address to. I was surprised to see how empty the place was, and even more surprised when the hostess greeted me by name.

"Jack…?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"Come this way, your party is waiting in the back." She led me to the back room and I smile broadly when I saw Gabe standing there. He looked extremely sexy in a clean black tuxedo, his hair slicked back nicely. I was about to speak, but a knowing smile spread across his face and suddenly a group of our co-workers and friends appeared from the hidden shadows around him. It started softly so I didn't realize what was happening until Reinhardt, Torbjörn, McCree, and Genji started singing an old song that I loved, even though it was before my time. Ana was also there, recording with a smile on her face as I reacted to this incredible acapella serenade from the four… well, five because Gabe started singing the vocals along with the four doing the music and the "whoa's."

**(A.N.: Anyone who doesn't know the song and wants to hear it, it is Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time." :) )**

"_Whoa, oh, oh, oh, for the longest time. Whoa, oh, oh, for the longest time._"

"_If you said goodbye to me tonight, there would still be music left to write. What else could I do? I'm so inspired by you. That hasn't happened for the longest time._"

I watched them and laughed with very surprised happiness as the five snapped as they sang to me. Gabe walked forward a bit in front of them, smiling largely at me as he continued.

"_Once I thought my innocence was gone, now I know that happiness goes on. That's where you found me, when you would put your arms around me. I haven't been there for the longest time._"

"_Whoa, oh, oh, oh, for the longest time. Whoa, oh, oh, for the longest time._" They all sang, beginning to circle around me choreographically. I laughed and smiled like crazy. Gabe continued on.

"_I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall and the greatest miracle of all. It's how I need you and how you needed me too. That hasn't happened for the longest time. Maybe this won't last very long, but you feel so right and I could be wrong. Maybe I've been hoping too hard, but I've gone this far and it's more than I hoped for. Who knows how much further we'll go on, maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone. I'll take my chances, I forgot how nice romance is. I haven't been there for the longest time. I had second thoughts at the start. I said to myself, 'hold on to your own heart.' Now I know the man that you are, you're wonderful by far and it's more than I hoped for. I don't care what consequence it brings, I have been a fool for lesser things. I want you so bad, I think you ought to know that I intend to hold you for the longest time._" Gabe sang, his voice with that slight, sexy rasp. They all stood in front of me, the end of the song near.

"_Whoa, oh, oh, oh, for the longest time. Whoa, oh, oh, for the longest time. Whoa, oh, oh, for the longest time… whoa, oh, oh, for the longest time…_" the four sang around us as Gabe took my hand and went down on one knee, a ring in his other hand.

"So, what do you say, Jack? Will you marry me?" He asked. I smiled down at him, realizing just how much time and effort this must have taken him to plan… making me think he had just spontaneously thought of marriage so I had no idea that this was coming. And it was romantic as hell… and I loved it, and him.

"Yes," I nodded, "of course."

Gabe stood up and put the silver band on my finger. I smiled at the ring before embracing him tightly.

"I love you, Gabriel." I murmured into his shoulder. Gabe squeezed me lovingly.

"I love you too, Jack."

When we pulled apart, I saw Torb and Rein clapping and Genji and McCree even high-fived. Ana cheered and put the camera down before coming over to us.

"Yay! I am so happy for you two!"

"When is ze wedding?" Reinhardt asked.

"Whoa big guy, we just got engaged." Gabe laughed. And he was right… but I wanted to start the rest of our life together ASAP.


	3. Chapter 3

P.O.V. Of Gabriel

"And you're sure this won't affect my abilities in any serious negative ways?" I asked, not wanting to admit that I was nervous about this.

"Sometimes we must suffer in the name of science." Moira replied. It had been several weeks since I had proposed to Jack and I had begun helping Moira with her work by being a test subject in her experiments. I sighed and nodded when she said this, removing my shirt for her.

The Irish scientist began the normal routine of poking and prodding me, sticking me with sensors to monitor this, that, and the other thing. I clenched my teeth in discomfort as she did her usual, shocking different muscles, injecting me with different substances, pulling DNA from my cells, testing blood, pretty much everything you can think of that a mad scientist would do. She was never fully clear as to what she was trying to or exactly why. All she said whenever I asked was:

"'Maximizing human potential and preventing weakness. I must show that young doctor of yours the beauty of my studies."

After some time, my body was aching as it commonly did. I was getting irritable and I think she could tell.

"What do you require?" She asked me as she checked some charts.

"I think I require a break." I laughed drily, clenching and unclenching a fist. The younger woman sighed before nodding and moving away from me slightly. She gathered her supplies, detaching me from all the hookups and connections.

"Very well, we can resume this at another time," she stated, "let me know when works best for you."

"Will do. I have to go to a meeting now anyways. I'll talk to you later." I told her and left her little office.

I walked down to the cafeteria to get a sandwich for lunch before the meeting. I saw Genji and Jesse sitting at a table, but not really talking. Genji was staring at where Angela sat with Fareeha and Ana, Jesse was hobbling down food. I gave one more look around to make sure that Jack wasn't there before going to sit with my teammates.

"Hey fellas." I greeted as I sat down.

"Howdy Boss. Genji seriously, man… let her go. Look, the new cadet is coming in now, invite her to sit." Jesse said, but Genji just grunted. I shot Jesse a mischievous look and waved to Bek, calling her over.

"Hey Cadet Luxton! Bek, want to come sit with us?!"

Genji stiffened, speaking quickly and of course unintelligibly in Japanese. I didn't even have to know what he was saying to know that he was probably not happy with me.

The small brunette looked surprised when she heard her name, but she came over and sat down next to Genji.

"Um, hello Commander."

I could understand her confusion because I hadn't spoken to her since we met weeks ago and I was never very loud like I just was then. I kept to myself and remained practically invisible, so even Jesse seemed amazed.

"Hello, I hope you're more comfortable with the base. I'd like you to meet the other two members of Blackwatch, Jesse McCree and Genji Shimada." I smiled at her. Bek stares at Genji for a moment too long and the part cyborg, part human narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yes?" He asked a bit roughly.

"I'm sorry, your body is so-"

"Strange? Ugly? Frightening?" Genji spat. I felt like cringing for poor Bek until I realized she was blushing.

"No… it's, uh… alluring. And your eyes…" I was shocked at this and I could see that Jesse was as well, not to mention Genji's reaction.

"E-excuse me?" Now it was he who was staring at Bek. The only woman at the table stood, putting her boot up on the bench. We all watched as she pulled her pant leg up to reveal a robotic ankle/foot prosthetic.

"I know it's nothing compared to yours… but it's something I struggled with for many years. I know Torbjörn lost his arm so I guess I'm not, like, the only one who you can relate to or vice versa, I just… well-" she stopped herself and put her pant leg back down. "I'm sorry, this was stupid. I was just told that talking to others who had lost… parts of their body helps and that talking about how you lost it is an important part of recovery so… but you… it's not my business and mine isn't the same at all, I'm so sorry… I'll just-"

She went to walk away but Genji jumped up, grabbing her wrist with his remaining human hand. Bek inhales sharply before turning back to face him. Genji dropped her hand and licked eyes with her, removing the part of his face mask that covered everything below his eyes. Jesse and I sat there in stunned silence, for we had yet to ever see his full face for ourselves. Yet, what was revealed was nothing gruesome, just a scarred, tired face, but a real face nonetheless. Bek gasped ever so softly and began to reach forward to touch him. Genji's eyes followed her hand anxiously and he flinched slightly when Bek finally brushed his cheek. I was in awe that Genji didn't pull away. The younger woman's eyes were kind and you could tell her touch was soft and ginger.

"Well I'll be…" Jesse murmured quietly from where he sat beside me. I remained silent and still, too stiff to even take a breath. Neither of them spoke for what felt like an eternity and I realized… this was probably the first time that Genji had proper human touch since his accident, not counting Angela's doctoring of course.

Finally, Genji cleared his throat and touched his hand to hers.

"Thank you… no one has ever spoken about my new body like that. They usually avoid me because they are frightened by the unnatural. I apologize for reacting the way I did. Perhaps my rigidness is a defense mechanism because I still cannot fully accept that I am different now… I do not look the same as I once did and that makes me self-conscious." Genji spoke more words than I think I had ever heard from him in all the time that I had known him.

"And you are correct, Torbjörn has a prosthetic arm, but that does not stop him from avoiding me unless it is completely necessary to interact. He sees me as more machine than man… and we all know what he thinks of the sentient Omnics that I now look so much like…"

"Genji… I would never avoid you, ever. You are so much more than you think. So much braver, stronger, and beautiful… you know, there are stories of some places around the globe with Omnics they are kind and trustworthy, so even if you were more machine than man, that still wouldn't mean anything. But, you're not… you may not have your whole body anymore, but you still have everything that makes you who you are." Bek let her hand fall to Genji's chest, right over his heart. The young man's eyes shut and I saw a slight movement in his chest of an inhaled breath.

"You have a heart, a mind, a soul… you live and breathe. Perhaps that isn't what is defined as what makes us human, but it helps make you… you. Don't ever question yourself again." Bek murmured. Genji took her hand from his chest and entwined their fingers.

"But you don't know the horrid man I was before all of this happened to me. I was a playboy… toying with women and always using people to get what I wanted. I did not want to be a part of my father's gang culture and my actions brought so much shame upon our family that the elders told my own brother that he must kill me… and he listened."

"But you survived… and you may have made some mistakes, but you not wanting to be involved in some family gang is not one of those mistakes. As for the women and the manipulation of others, you were simply young and foolish. I can sense you now, you have changed. You long for something deeper…" Bek Locked eyes with him and I suddenly felt like I was intruding on a private conversation. Genji nodded and gazed down at their clasped hands.

"Ever since I was given this new body… I have longed to feel the familiar human touch so badly that I was blinded by the caring touches of a doctor to a patient and crossed into dangerous territories that were most definitely foreign and incorrect. I apologize for my actions, as I don't wish to get confused with you as well…" he stated. Bek nodded firmly and pulled his hand to her chest.

"I understand and I don't want to either… which is why I need to say…" she paused for a moment, "you don't have to worry about anything like that."

Before either could say anything else, Sojourn Rose, the lead of the base, even above Jack and I, approached. Genji and Bek moved apart and both stood at attention.

"Cadet Luxton, you are needed in a meeting." Sojourn said, then her eyes fell on me. "There you are, Commander Reyes. Come on please, both of you. The others are already waiting."

Oh shit, I had almost forgotten about the meeting. Jesse stood up beside me.

"What about Genji and me?" He asked. Sojourn shook her head.

"No need to stuff the boardroom full, I'm sure Commander Reyes will fill you both in afterwards." She looked back to Bek and then me. "Please be quick."

She strode off, leaving the four of us in silence again. Bek and Genji spoke in hushed tones that we couldn't hear and Jesse gave me a wide eyed look.

"Well, let's hope the meeting isn't as dramatic and intense as those two… I mean, damn! Good luck Boss." He told me. I nodded in agreement and motioned for Bek to follow me. The two of us parted ways from Genji and Jesse, heading to the executive wing where all meetings were held. I found myself wondering more so if Jack would be there rather than what the meeting was going to be about. I shook myself out. That had been waaay too much passion and intensity for one day. Hell, for me, enough for a year. But at least Genji was getting over Angela… I guess Jesse was right about Bek. As for her, what was a new cadet doing being asked to join a meeting between officers? I suppose we would have to wait and see.

Bek and I walked into the meeting room and I saw that Jack was already sitting with two open seats beside him. I sat down next to him and Bek sat down in the spot to my right. Jack looked between us, landing on me last, and smiled.

"Hey, how are things with Moira?" He asked quietly.

"Annoying and slightly uncomfortable, but it'll be worth it eventually." I replied, then looked to where Sojourn stood up at the front of the table.

"Alright, let's get this started. First, I'd like to go over the quarterly report. Strike Commander?" Sojourn looked to Jack. My fiancé cleared his throat and stood to address all of us.

"As I'm sure most of you are already aware, there has not been much of a change to any of the sectors this quarter. Things have remained quite relaxed and though we like to see that, we do not want to fall into any false sense of security. As for the main topic of discussion for this meeting, our newly welcomed member. For those who don't know, or perhaps don't remember from our last meeting," Jack shot me a teasing glare when he said this, "the SEP has started a new round of soldiers, different from the batch of 100 that Gabriel and I were a part of. From what I've heard, these 100 are even more classified and more enhanced. Bek here is one of several that are coming to join Overwatch so far. She is Soldier: 121 and Sojourn and I have personally been watching her training and interacting… and Gabe, I believe that she would be a good addition to Blackwatch." Jack explained. I sat up straighter, as did Bek beside me.

"What? Are you sure, Morrison? She's…"

"Blackwatch…?" Bek murmured, almost inaudible.

"Yes, I'm sure, Reyes," Jack gave me a short chuckle, "we watched how she trained with Reinhardt and thought she did very well. With her abilities and her form, she is bound to be a great tank for Blackwatch."

"A… SEP tank?" I asked in surprise.

"She's actually a hybrid. That is what this batch was and what the SEP was going for. When Strike Commander Morrison and I were watching her… I must say that they hit the nail on the head." Sojourn put in.

"A hybrid… as in a support tank?" I questioned. Jack nodded and I turned to stare at Bek in awe. She blushed, obviously a bit overwhelmed by all of the attention.

"Sort of. She is flexible with all the abilities we've seen that she has acquired from the enhancements, but she doesn't need to even choose, she can be both. The shield she has built into her- Bek, perhaps you'd rather explain to Commander Reyes yourself." Jack motioned to her. Beck nodded respectfully and stood up.

"Commander Reyes, I understand why you may be questioning whether I would be a good pick for Blackwatch or not, but first let me explain. I may not look like much, but I assure you that I graduated top five in my class with the SEP… second to be exact, but let's not talk about the first one." She laughed with slight embarrassment before clearing her throat. "Anyways… I may have shown you my prosthetic, but I didn't show you this…"

She lifted her pant leg just as she had in the cafeteria and upon further examination I realized that it looked just like the boot she was wearing on her left foot, but you could see some sort of seal if you looked closely. I watched as she stomped the foot down and the little compartment opened, a large shield emerging and encircling her and everyone else who was close enough. The shield was probably almost ten feet in diameter. I looked back up at her in surprise, just in time to see that her glasses changed as well. A screen appeared in front of her face, similar to Jack's tactical visor.

"My glasses as well as my weapons are linked with my prosthetic, therefore also with the shield. I apologize for not being prepared, as I don't have my weapons with me. Basically, myu visor helps me keep an eye on the shield's level; how much energy it has left. The more damage it takes, the weaker it gets obviously, but the lost energy then transfers into my weapons. The less energy in the shield, the stronger my healing is." She explained. I sat nodding along as she spoke, my fingers pyramiding in front of my face. When she paused, I moved them to ask questions.

"So… you do damage as well? How do your weapons work? And what are they?" Jack flashed me a grin when I asked this.

"Yeah, too bad she doesn't have them on her, wait until you hear this…"

"They are dual shotguns. The SEP's first few like me had one healing shotgun and one damaging shotgun, but it proved too confusing and affected training… poorly as you can imagine, so with me they changed it. The specialized bullets are actually just a different form of the shield energy converted through the whole connection the systems share and depending on the setting I choose thanks to some buttons on my glasses, the guns know when I want which energy, the positive, healing energy or the negative, damaging energy. There's a whole science behind it but I'm just the grunt so that's not my side of things, I just use the product of pretty impressive minds." She finished explaining with another awkward laugh as she watched me stare at her. I tried to picture her with two healing and damaging shotguns and I put my head in my hands.

"So… she's like a combination between… you, Reinhardt, and me equipment wise, but also like Ana with that weird healing and somehow also damaging thing… Damn, they really are cracking down and trying to fit it all in one. Ana and Rein weren't even in the SEP and yet now they've got the bits from the German and Egyptian armies… Damn, damn, damn…"

"I know… it makes me feel old." Jack chuckled. And hell, it made me feel old too.


	4. Chapter 4

P.O.V. Of Jack

It had been a week since Gabe had given in and accepted Bek as a part of Blackwatch. She had joined them in training, but there were no missions set yet. Not for Blackwatch or any Overwatch agents really.

"You heading to training with Bek, Genji, and Jesse?" I asked from the bed as I watched Gabe get dressed. My fiancé glanced back at me as he pulled his black t-shirt on.

"Yeah, going to just go overlook them because that was enough of a workout." He winked, bending down to kiss me. I laughed and ran my hands through his short, dark hair.

"Always. But I bet those kids could beat you just like I did the other week, you could really use the practice." I smiled, but not for long. My face fell as I thought of my age. Gabe and I were forty-six and forty-three respectively, so it would be quite late to have a kid. We'd be in our sixties when the kid turned eighteen, and that was if we had them immediately… but how? And on an army base during a war? I mean, Ana had Fareeha between the wars…

"Everything alright, mi amor?" Gabe's voice brought me back to the present.

"Hm?" Oh, just… thinking about, uh…"

"Babies… I can tell by the look on your face. It's the same face every time we talk about kids." Gabe stroked my cheek.

"Which isn't often." I sigh. Gabe kissed me once more before standing up straight again and running a hand through his hair to fix it.

"Perhaps, but you still have that longing look. We can talk about this now. You obviously have had it on your mind since before the engagement."

I nodded, throwing the covers off to get up as well. I grabbed my clothes as I tried to process my thoughts. I had always wanted children, but I had never really thought about how I would go about it, considering my preference in life partners.

"I was just thinking of how old we are and about how we should probably… have kids as soon as possible because we'd be in our sixties when the kid-" Gabe cut me off.

"Then let's do it." He replied simply. I was pretty surprised by this.

"Wait really?" I smiled.

"Really… go talk to Angela. I'm sure she can help us figure out what we have to do to have a kid…" Gabe slipped on his beanie, "Now, I have to go. I just remembered that Moira wanted to continue things in an hour."

"Okay, meet in the cafeteria for dinner?" I asked and my fiancé nodded.

"Of course, _mi amor_." One more quick kiss and we parted ways. I knew that I had to be timely with Angela because Sojourn and Lacroix has scheduled a meeting. I had enough time.

"Dr. Ziegler? May I come in?" I knocked on Angela's door and waited for her response before doing anything. If Gabe and Genji's story proved anything, it was that knocking was always important.

"Strike Commander! O-of course." I heard her call, then I let myself in. Angela was with Fareeha. Thinking about them, I thought of Ana. She most likely still did not know about the two because she was my second in command and I knew her well. I feel like there would have been some telling signs that Ana had found out, but I had yet to see one. I shook those wonderings out of my head and cleared my throat.

"Hello Angela, Pharah… I wanted to ask you about having a baby."

"P-pardon?" The young doctor blushed furiously and I coughed.

"Gabriel and I! I-I wanted to ask about how Gabriel and I could have a baby." I answered hurriedly.

"Oh, of course!? My apologies… that's wonderful to hear that you two are interested in having children." Angela composed herself and smiled. Pharah gave a curt nod, but said nothing.

"So… what are the best options?"

"For two men, a surrogate." Angela replied, standing up. "And I would like to offer myself to assist you…"

"What?" Pharah an I exclaimed in unison. Pharah stood up quickly beside Angela.

"That's insane, Angela! You would be putting your life and your career on hold for nine months!" The younger woman argued.

"But Fareeha, I want to do this for them." Angela grabbed her girlfriend's hand.

"No, I know you. I know you think you want to help them in this way, but you would regret it. That baby would have your DNA and you would get too attached to be able to let it go. I know that you want kids of your own… of our own. So, if you don't do the surrogacy… I'll come out to my mother and tell her the truth about us." Pharah sighed. Angela looked surprised and kissed Pharah happily, leaving me standing there awkwardly. When the two broke apart, Angela nodded.

"You're right… and thank you." She smiled at Pharah before turning back to me with a more somber face.

"I'm sorry Strike Commander, she's right. I wouldn't want to risk complicating things. We can figure something else out, I promise. I'll do some research and get back to you."

"No, I understand completely. I could never ask you or just anyone to do that. It's a serious commitment… but thank you for the thought."

"Of course and don't worry, there are still options." Angela promised. I nodded gratefully before heading for the door.

"Oh," I turned back to them and smiled gently, "as for the coming out, don't stress Pharah. Ana is one of my best friends and I know her well… she adores you Fareeha. She won't think of you any differently." I assured the twenty year old. Pharah smiled at me, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. I'm sure she was nervous, as anyone would be. I remembered what it was like coming out to my family. My heart had been pounding as I stood in front of my parents.

"I'm gay."

I had said, swallowing my fear. And of course, my parents supported me unconditionally and absolutely nothing changed. I knew some did not have that right, especially a lot more commonly in the past. Having a family that was supportive of anything, though more likely now, was still very lucky to have.

"Thank you, Strike Commander." Pharah dipped her head respectfully.

"Please, call me Jack when we aren't in a formal setting." I told her, giving one last smile before ducking out of Angela's office. I paused for a moment to take a breath, then closed my eyes. It was happening… I had spoken with Angela. Gabe and I were going to try to have a baby. A fresh happiness in my mind made me far less worried about the meeting that I was now headed to.

When I sat down beside Ana, she smiled at me. Reinhardt was on her other side, which I was surprised to see, as he barely ever took part in these meetings.

"Reinhardt, hello. Ana…" I nodded.

"Hello Jack!" Reinhardt boomed in his loud German voice.

"Yes, we don't know why he's here either." Ana gave a soft chuckle, playfully shoving her friend.

"Glad everyone is here. Gérard and I have two big things to cover. First of all, there has been an attack on Berlin… Omnics overran the city, but the Crusaders are fighting back." Sojourn began the meeting very quick and to the point. At this news, I glanced at Reinhardt with concern. Ana had her hand on top of his in a way to comfort him. Our long time friend and Overwatch partner had once been a German soldier, Lieutenant Wilhelm of the Crusaders. He had been young and a bit reckless during the one of the first Omnic attacks on Germany and had lost the use of his left eye during the same battle in which the leader of the Crusaders at the time, Balderich von Adler, lost his life. Von Adler had actually been the one chosen to join Overwatch during this Omnic Crisis, but after he died, Reinhardt took his place. This is of course how I had met and befriended him.

"So… zis is vhy you called me to zis meeting." Reinhardt stood, "I assume ve vill be sending reinforcements to help ze Crusaders. I want to be a part of zat team."

Ana hurriedly stood as well, grabbing his arm to try and coax him back down.

"Reinhard dear, are you sure you want to do that? We're all getting old. Perhaps it is time to let the next generation step up." She murmured.

"No, I will answer ze call I, always. Live vith honor, die vith glory."

"He's right Ana, we have a job to protect the world." I put in.

"Jack, all due respect… but you are a super soldier with different enhancements. Your age is less of a factor and you are the youngest out of all five of us." Ana said. 'All five of us.' Yes… me, Gabe, Rein, and Ana were very close and went on many missions together in Overwatch's beginning days, even the mission where we were sent to find the fifth person Ana was referring to, Torbjörn.

"Perhaps… but if this is what Reinhardt wants. Besides, SEP aside, Reinhardt is still just as good a soldier as Gabe and I. You are too, Ana."

Gérard Lacroix cleared his throat and took a step forward.

"Well, that brings us to our next point. The American government has informed us that more of the 100-200 round of SEP soldiers are prepared to join Overwatch."

"Which is great timing with the Berlin incident. The new soldiers will be coming at the end of this week, so Jack, I want you in charge or readying them for deployment next week." Sojourn added.

"A week? Only a week to prepare them?! I'm sorry but that is far too soon." I exclaimed.

"I don't care, Strike Commander, you will do as I say. Germany needs backup and Russia is already sending in their forces, so we must act." Sojourn remained firm.

"So send in a team of members we already have been training and preparing, not a bunch of inexperienced novices! Send in Gabe's group!"

"Morrison, you know Blackwatch is meant simply for covert ops and is supposed to be kept quiet and out of public view." Lacroix shook his head/

"All the more reason to send them in on non-covert missions. Don't even let the public suspect a thing. Where is the best place to hide but in plain sight!" I threw my thoughts out there and Gérard and Sojourn seemed to think on it for a moment.

"We'll see how things go with the Russian troops in Germany first. We'll give it until next Friday. The SEP members will have a week here to prepare. We can send a few with Commander Reyes's group to mask anything suspicious, then you will lead a second round of troops if more reinforcements are needed. Sojourn finally spoke. Reinhardt shifted.

"But vhat about me?"

"Your choice, Reinhardt. You can either lead a third party if and when it is needed, or you can choose to join either Commander Reyes or Strike Commander Morrison's groups. But be sure to let us know what you decide so we can be fully prepared." Lacroix said. Reinhardt seemed satisfied with that and fell silent again so Sojourn and Gérard could finish.

"So, from the messages from the SEP, we have concluded that a total of fifteen have finished their treatments and are being sent out. Once they have arrived and had a day to settle in, we will have some training where you, Gabriel and I will determine fits for each of them. Reinhardt, you are welcome as well if you decide you wish to lead a troop. We will categorize them into who will take who, got it?" Sojourn seemed rest to draw the meeting to a close. She looked at me. "Please infirm Commander Reyes of the things he missed… and see if he can try to attend more meetings. I understand that he is working with Dr. O'Deorain, but if they could perhaps schedule whatever… experimentation they are doing at better times, that would be fantastic."

"Of course, I'll talk to him." I promised her.

"Good. Meeting adjourned." She nodded.

As we all left, I checked my watch. It was getting close to dinner time and I was excited to meet up with Gabe and tell him about my talk with Angela. Of course, now I had to tell him about the meeting as well. I did find myself wondering about how the work with Moira was going, as he never really spoke about it. Well, seeing as it was still early, I decided to go back to the hospital wing to meet up with Gabe there.

I was just about to try knocking at the door of Moira's makeshift office when I heard my fiancé's frustrated voice arguing with the geneticist.

"What the hell is going on with me? I haven't been feeling right and look at this!" Of course, I had no idea what he could be showing her, as I had just seen every possible inch of his body before this and hadn't noticed anything different about him.

"Interesting…" Moira's voice came.

"That's all you have to say? 'Interesting'?! What does it mean?" I heard Gabe growl.

"It means it is starting to work… just be patient, Commander." Moira purred in response.

"Patient? I don't want this to become my life. If you can't help me, perhaps we should stop before things leave irreversible damage."

"Absolutely not. The change is a sign of good things to come. You want to have regenerative abilities and learn more about what my research can do for us, yes?" Moira's voice was cold and calculating. I heard Gabe sigh.

"Fine… I'll give it more time, but no telling anyone about the true dangers and side effects, not even Jack."

"I had assumed I would have been the one to make that suggestion… Commander." I could hear the mysterious smile edge in her voice, making me frown. What could Gabe not want me knowing about? Why would he want to hide anything from me? Deciding I didn't want to hear anymore, I quickly ducked out to head to the cafeteria.

"Hello Strike Commander Morrison." Cadet Luxton greeted me when I entered.

"Oh, hello Bek, how is your training with Blackwatch going?"

"It's going quite well… any idea when we may have a mission?" She asked.

"Good that you ask that actually… more of our SEP-mates are coming this week and there has been an Omnic attack on Germany, so we will be putting together to go in and help support the Crusaders. I tried to convince Sojourn and Gérard to let Blackwatch join the fight as long as there is no public knowledge of Blackwatch as a group. You wouldn't be on a covert ops missions, just simply be another regular troop like the rest of Overwatch." I explained. Bek nodded understandingly.

"I get it, what's the point of having a covert ops team of The whole world knows that it's a cover ops team? Want to sit with Genji, Jesse, and I?" She asked, motioning over to where the two mentioned agents sat at a table.

"Well, I was meeting Gabe here but sure, why not?" I smiled as I grabbed my meal and followed her. I sat down next to McCree and Bek next to Genji. Gabe had told me about the two's intense encounter and it left me wondering if we had more couples on base than I thought. Dating during a war on an army base was not easy, that was for sure, but I couldn't imagine my life without Gabe, so who was I to judge anyone else who decided to try to find love?

"Guys, Strike Commander Morrison just told me that we may have a mission!" Bek told her teammates. They sat up at this, obviously interested.

"Really? What is it?" Genji asked her.

"Wait, shouldn't Commander Reyes be here for this?" McCree added. I laughed and made a hand motion for them to calm down.

"It's nothing Blackwatch related just yet, but you are still going to be led by Commander Reyes, of course. It's just simply a regular mission to Berlin." I told them and McCree nodded.

"Ah, gotcha… I heard about the attacks."

"Yeah, me too. I want to help." Bek had a look of determination in her eyes that brought fire to even my old self. I remembered being the same way when I was their age. I had even received the nickname Golden Boy and even Boy Scout from Gabe and the rest of our SEP-mates because of how bright eyed and energetic I was. I remember the same positivity and desire to be a hero that I heard in Bek. It made me proud to see that new faces were coming in to prepare for the day when I was done.

Or died…

"Look, there's Commander Reyes now!" Bek exclaimed. I looked towards the cafeteria doors to see my fiancé looking very tired. I forced a smile as to not look suspicious or worry him. I knew I had to talk to him about the meeting and my talk with Angela, but his words with Moira still rang harshly in my ears…


	5. Chapter 5

**P.O.V. Of Gabe**

"Uff…" I growled, gripping onto the sink. Or… trying to. I had noticed only a few days ago that my body was changing. My hands were slipping right through the sink, as they were a wavering dark purple smoke. When I had first noticed this and mentioned it to Moira, she had brushed it off, saying that it was a good sign, but over the course of a few more days it had gotten worse and hard to control. I couldn't let Jack see me like this. He's get all worried and want me to stop. I'd never hear the end of it and I made a commitment, so I would see this to the end.

"Babe, everything alright in there?" I heard Jack call through the door. I let the sound of his voice soak in and help calm myself down as I breathed deeply. My form slowly returned and I made sure I was stable before emerging through the door.

"No, I'm sick as a dog, must be pregnant!" I joked, maintaining face. Jack stood his head as he came over to me, but still cracked a bit of a smile.

"Don't be an ass. We have our meeting with Angela after training." He said excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah. You're adorable, you know that?" I embraced him and gave him a quick kiss.

"Why thank you. Now let's go meet the new recruits." Jack pulled away and I was glad he did because I felt my body wavering again, but luckily it was hidden beneath my shirt this time.

"Right then, let's go." I led the way out and Jack and I made our way to the center atrium of our base. We made it in time to see Sojourn and Gérard leading a group of young adults into the building.

"Welcome to the Swiss Headquarters. Your first three days here will be spent training while our commanders oversee you. Ah, there they are now." Sojourn announced, then saw Jack and I. Then fifteen SEP cadets all saluted. Jack took a step forward.

"Hello. I am Strike Commander Morrison and this is Commander Reyes. It's nice to see new soldiers from the SEP. Reyes and I were a part of the first one hundred soldiers, but I'm sure most of you know this. As Sergeant Sojourn Rose said, we will be overseeing your training for a few days before we decide where you'll be placed. There are a couple of options, you may be part of the strike team that I run, the covert ops group called Blackwatch that Commander Reyes runs, or another follow up troop led by Reinhardt Wilhelm. As for those who are chosen to join Blackwatch, you must know that the public cannot know about Blackwatch's existence. Blackwatch members will be sent into Berlin as a normal team still led by Reyes. We need all the bodies we can get to assist the Crusaders." Jack told them. I took this moment to step up so I was side by side with him again.

"Blackwatch members must not only be skilled in the art of subtlety, but they must also be trustworthy. Our ranks are much smaller, believe me… I do not accept just anyone. If you don't want the extra responsibilities, make that clear now. Got it?" I added gruffly. All of the cadets nodded.

"Sir, yes Sir!" They chimed, but no one made a motion to say they weren't interested. I dipped my head curtly.

"Very well, your first day of judgment starts now. No pressure."

I turned, ready to lead the group to the training facility. Reinhardt appeared.

"Sorry I'm late, I got ze times mixed up." He pauses for a moment, looking over the SEP cadets, "wow, we seem to have a good looking group. I am Reinhardt Wi-"

"Yes Reinhardt, we told them." Jack cut him off with a chuckle.

"Oh, my apologies... zen let's go."

"Oh Gabe, it's time for our meeting with Angela." Jack got my attention. I had been in deep thought as I watched a few of the cadets fighting each other. I was glad that they were all wearing jackets with their numbers on them because there was no way I'd be able to keep track of all fifteen of them.

"Hm? Oh, right! Reinhardt, let them know that they're good to go for the day." I said to our friend and he nodded.

"And please get a list of all of their names and corresponding numbers so we can take notes on them and talk it over between us." Jack added, "And get their dorm room numbers as well so we know as much about them as we can."

"Understood." Reinhardt gave one more nod before calling all of the cadets to attention. Jack and I didn't stay long enough to hear what he said to them. We walked to the hospital wing and stopped at Angela's office.

"Angela?" Jack called.

"Come in." She responded. My fiancé and I entered and I was surprised to see that the young doctor was not alone. Moira was sitting with her.

"Oh Moira, hello." I said curtly.

"Sit…" Angela motioned to her couch. Jack and I sat down, but I felt a sudden sense of discomfort as Moira's presence, considering what this appointment was meant for originally.

"What are you doing here, Dr. O'Deorain?" Jack asked respectfully.

"She found out I was doing research for you both and offered her help. I don't exactly agree with the idea she has, but it has been done a handful of times." Angela said, not really explaining.

"What is it?" I asked, eyeing Moira suspiciously.

"Test tube children." She replied.

"What?" Jack seemed surprised.

"We would take an egg from a donor and a sperm from whichever of you wishes to father the child, then fertilize the egg and incubate it artificially to a healthy term."

"A-and by 'incubate it artificially' you mean… grow the baby outside of a body?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Yes, we would recreate a natural womb setting with all the necessary features to house a fetus properly." Listening to Moira tell us these plans, I imagined my possible child growing in an unsafe, artificial setting. Then my smoky body crept up in my mind and I knew I couldn't do it.

"No." I answered.

"What? Wait, Gabe we-" Jack tried to argue but I stopped him.

"No Jack, I refuse to… grow our child artificially. I don't want the first nine months, the most important to any human, to be the child taking part in her fucked up experiments. We have no idea if it's safe. What if they have some sort of developmental issues or crazy side effects?" I snapped. Jack stares at me with a look of confusion laced with concern.

"Gabriel…" Moira's voice held an emotion that I couldn't read. Was it threatening?

"Gabe, this may not be an ideal situation, but we don't have many options…" Jack tried to ease me by taking my hand but I pulled mine away.

"Yes, we don't have a lot of options and you're seriously thinking of doing the one with the least history, no way of knowing the possible negative side effects that we'd be locking our child into because of our own selfishness. I don't agree with that." I shook my head and Jack frowned.

"I get that… but what are our other options?" Jack seemed exasperated.

"We wait! Do it the old fashion way that all gay people do it! Find a surrogate actually willing to carry out kid for nine months!" I growled.

"But finding the right woman could take forever… we talked about wanting to do this as soon as possible. Not needing an incubator helps so much!" Jack said, but this just enraged me.

"An incubator? Jack, that is a human being! A woman who would be kind enough to help us. If you don't understand why I want to go the natural route then maybe I don't want to have children with you!"

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I regretted it. I had no idea where this sudden anger had come from but I wanted to stand my ground. I would not risk my child becoming… whatever I was becoming. Of course, Jack looked hurt, then it was his turn to be enraged. He opened his mouth to respond, the anger and pain clear on his face, but he shut his mouth and stormed out.

"Shit. Jack… Jack wait!" I stood and tried to stop him. I couldn't do so and was left with both women.

"Gabriel…" Moira seemed intrigued, while Angela seemed a bit more sympathetic.

"Well… I'm sorry Commander. I… I will do more searching. There must be an answer. Please do not lose hope."

"Well, I think I may have just fucked up my relationship, excuse me ladies…" I saw myself out and chased after Jack. He had gone all the way back to our room and had locked himself in the bedroom.

"Jack… please Jack, I'm sorry… I didn't mean it, I was just angry. And… scared." My last sentence I said quietly, leaning my forehead against the door. I think my softness was the only reason that Jack opened the door.

"Scared? Of what? Apparently of fatherhood!" Jack snapped. When he said this, I felt that same rage build up inside of me as well as that same wavering feeling in my torso.

"No! But of course you wouldn't understand. Golden Boy Scout that never ever thinks about the negativity ever! And of course it makes me end up looking like the bad guy and you come out even more fucking golden than before! I'm tired of my realism being seen as pessimism and your downright naivety looking like optimism!" I threw my hands up. I didn't see his open palm coming and I stumbled back slightly when he slapped me.

"I think you should go…" Jack's voice was emotionless, which I didn't hear very often. It actually did set me a little on edge. I took a step back with my hand on my stinging cheek.

"Fine… be that way. I guess we really dodged a bullet, huh?" I hissed, grinding my teeth as I sulked out. I wandered the halls alone for quite a while until I ran into McCree.

"Oh, heya Boss." He tipped his hat. I just gave a curt nod which had my teammate raising an eyebrow.

"Everything okay, Commander?"

"It's fine… I just…" I shook my head, "no, I'm not fucking fine actually. I had a dumb fight with Jack. I… I have no idea what to do. Maybe this was just our wake up call." I scoffed. Jesse gave me a look of shock.

"Your wake up call? I'm sorry Commander, but that is absolute horseshit. You are the happiest whenever you're with Jack, I see it clear as day. You can't let simple fights make you give up on the things you want."

"I think… even if you're right, Jack and I just need some time. I just can't agree with him, not on his we would bring our child into this world." I growled. Jesse looked confused.

"Well, it sounds like there's details about this that I don't know… so maybe I can't be I can't be giving my opinion. I mean, if you want to talk about it…"

"Well, Jack kicked me out for the night so I need to find a place to crash." I sighed, glancing around restlessly.

"I'm sure Genji wouldn't mind if you crashed on out couch if you want." My teammate offered.

"I guess… thanks." I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling awful.

"Alright, I'll show you where our room is," Jesse led the way back toward the living quarters, "oh and Commander, you and Jack will figure out how to have children. You'll agree and, uh… be super happy old married guys with a ton of kids." He laughed slightly and I just stayed silent as we walked.


	6. Chapter 6

**P.O.V. Of Jack**

I couldn't sleep at all that night, the bed cold and empty without Gabe beside me. I took a shower to get rid of the grogginess and fatigue before heading to the mess hall to get something in my stomach. I walked into the busy cafeteria, bustling and loud with the extra soldiers from the enhancement program. I slowly managed to grab a bagel and some juice, then squeezed through the clusters of young adults. It flashed me back to when I was in the SEP many years ago.

"Watch it, rookie!" I was shoved aside by a larger soldier. I stumbled slightly and took a breath to try and remain calm. I knew I had to not let it affect me, for I wouldn't be pushed around much longer. It was only my first morning here and I hadn't even started my injections yet. This place was large and intricate... and so overwhelming. I checked my watch and saw the time, realizing I was supposed to be meeting with my new partner.

"Shit, fuck!" I cursed, rushing out of the cafeteria. My smaller body made it easier to squirrel in and out of the larger, more muscular soldiers. I made my way through the halls, trying to find the place where I was told to meet him.

"Where... oh man..." I murmured to myself, looking around nervously. I knew I couldn't be late. This guy was my superior and I had to prove that I deserved to be here. First impressions were everything...

I turned the corner and ran straight into a wall, falling to the floor.

"Oh fuck!" I exclaimed, rubbing my head.

"Ahaha... dirty mouth for a clean looking newbie." I looked up to see that the wall I had run into was in fact not a wall, but a very buff, very attractive soldier with dark hair and caramel skin. The soldier offered me a hand up and I took it, trying hard not to blush.

"Uh... I'm so sorry, I guess I just wasn't looking where I was going. I just wasn't looking where I was going. I was just in a rush because I'm supposed to be meeting my new partner right now." I apologized, explaining myself as I looked up into shocking green eyes.

"Really?" He rose an eyebrow mischievously, "What's your name?"

"John Morrison... ah, Jack."

"Morrison. There you are, I was looking for you myself." The soldier grinned.

"What?" I was immediately embarrassed. I had just run face first into my mentor and practically flew Matrix style to the floor, straight on my ass.

"Gabriel Reyes, your new partner. Nice to see my new rookie is a Boy Scout who knows how to fly! Let's hope you don't lose those powers when they start pumpin' ya full of their chemical concoctions." Reyes winked at me and a hot blush crept up onto my face, so I buried my head in my hands. So much for a good first impression!

"Aww, come on rookie... I'm just bustin' your _cajones_." Reyes punched me in the arm and I couldn't stop the gasp of pain that shocked me out from the safety of my hands. I rubbed my arm, realizing how childish it was because he obviously meant it as a playful punch but wow, he was strong.

"Ow, um... let's hope I get as strong as you are..." I gave an awkward laugh. Reyes tossed his head back and laughed loudly, the sound plucking at my heartstrings even from the memory.

"Commander Morrison! Jack!" The German voice brought me out of my recollections and I looked up to see Reinhardt sitting with Gabe at a table, the ex-Crusader waving me over. My fiancé had a look of exhaustion on his face and as I stared at him, instead of remembering the fight we had, my mind flashed back to that bright look on his face as he had that full body laugh of his... I knew it was cheesy, but that moment was the second I knew that I would develop a very close bond with him. What could I say? I was a hopeless romantic who fell way too fast. I had been young, moldable... and I truly believed that Gabe and I were meant to be. I wasn't ready to be around him after last night but I knew with all the work that had to be done, I had no choice. I nodded to Reinhardt and made my way over to the table.

"Good morning Reinhardt... Gabriel." It hurt my heart to look my fiancé in the eye and call him by his full first name, something I hadn't done in years unless I was angry or being passive aggressive. Why did I even do that? Where was passive aggressiveness going to get me right now? Nowhere. I was the one in the wrong mainly here... but for some reason I just felt like I couldn't own up and apologize.

"I've got ze list of all ze soldiers' names and identification numbers as vell as notes from yesterday's practice session." Reinhardt pulled out some papers.

"That's great Reinhardt. I should start taking notes as well. Let's hurry up and eat so we can gather all of them, we need to start today's practice." I said quickly, not really wanting to listen to Reinhardt's notes right now.

"No need to be in such a rush, Morrison." Gabe said, putting enough hidden emphasis on addressing me with my last name so that only I noticed. That hurt too, but I guess I deserved it.

"There is a difference between being in a rush and trying to be timely. We have a war to take part in, a country to assist." I said in a low growl, giving Gabe a quick glare. I caught Gabe's brows tighten but I couldn't place the emotion hidden in the forest of those green eyes.

"Yes, of course. Then let's finish up here." Reinhardt boomed. I nodded and stood up, getting all of the soldiers' attention.

"Excuse me! Good morning cadets. We will be starting training in..." I checked my watch, "twenty minutes in the sparring hall. Make sure that you are all present and on time. Thank you."

The soldiers all turned to look at me and nodded before returning back to their breakfast.

A few hours later, I was sending the soldiers on a break, ready to go on my own.

"Jack, wait!" I spun back around to see Gabe following me.

"What?" I asked.

"Can we talk please...?" Gabe questioned. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and rubbing my temples.

"I'm not ready to talk and you aren't really either." I replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"You not only told me you didn't want to have children with me, but you also are keeping secrets from me." I glared at him and my fiancé's brow furrowed.

"What-" he tried to question me and I cut him off.

"Don't even fucking start, don't pretend you don't know." I spat. Gabe opened his mouth but I held up a finger. "'No telling anyone the dangers and side effects, not even Jack'" The words weren't mine but the ones that I had overheard Gabe say to Moira. They still haunted me and I just couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Oh God, Jack how did you-"

"Isn't it obvious?! I heard you and Moira talking! You intentionally kept things from me about your health! So, unless you care to tell me what is going on and what you are letting that conniving scientist do to your body, then no... I have no interest in talking." I snapped, turning to leave. Gabe grabbed my wrist.

"Jack..." he tried gently, but I yanked away.

"Don't." I hissed and Gabe glared at me.

"You can't act like you are one hundred percent innocent in this! The reason I said what I did about not wanting kids was because I was upset! I still am upset! I'm upset that you would want to take risks like that because you can't wait for other options. How could you even think to put our future child's life at risk because of your own selfishness?!" Gabe said angrily. As I listened to his words, the truth of them slowly sunk in. I still felt hurt, I couldn't let him win. But... God, why?

"I- I don't want to talk about this, I already told you! Now go do your job!" It tumbled out because I had no other good words and I felt completely defensive at this point.

"Excuse me? Jack, you're being absolutely fucking ridiculous. I'm not going to-"

"I am your superior and you will not talk to me this way. You will do as I say, no arguments... are we clear, Commander Reyes." I put heavy emphasis on my question to make sure he understood to back off. I tried so hard to maintain direct eye contact with him but it hurt too much. As I turned away once more, I heard the ice in his voice when he replied.

"Understood... Strike Commander."

"God... I told you I didn't want to talk..." I wanted to say. I had to stiffen myself do the tears wouldn't fall. Not now... I set my shoulders to look strong before walking away without another word.

I made my way back to our room just knowing that some time alone with my mind would be good. I decided to take a quick shower, my thoughts running wildly as I did so. I knew that Gabe was right about the whole baby thing, but that still didn't excuse his actions. I found myself wondering still what could be happening to him as he continued to work with Moira. Why exactly did he want to do this? What did he have to gain from taking part in this kind of research? Another secret he seemed to be keeping from me.

"I should have never allowed it. I have to get rid of her before Gabe or anyone else is seriously hurt." I murmured to myself as I stepped out of the shower. I moved to our bedroom to find a change of clothes, but as I was getting dressed I heard a sound coming from beyond the door.

"Gabe please... just leave me-" Thinking nothing of it but just being my fiancé coming to continue our fight, I opened the door out into our living space. Except, I wasn't greeted by Gabe. I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. I didn't even have time to react before the unidentifiable wielder shot me in the chest and I collapsed, my vision fading into darkness.


	7. Chapter7

**P.O.V. Of Gabe**

"I can't believe he would skip out on the rest of practice. I get that we're in a... rough patch, but he shouldn't just ditch when this is so important." I hissed in annoyance.

"Should someone go check on him?" Bek asked. She had basically been shadowing me for the past week since she had joined the Blackwatch team.

"You're probably right..." I turned to all of the SEP soldiers to dismiss them, "Alright cadets, that is the end of Day 2, we only get one more day to make our decisions. Please be prepared for the final day tomorrow; you are dismissed for the night. Rest up."

The soldiers saluted and headed off in little groups. I watched as Reinhardt stopped taking notes when Ana approached him. I had always wondered about their relationship, as the two seemed as close as Jack and I, yet Fareeha's father was some Canadian man named Sam that Ana had been married to for some time. I wasn't sure about their relationship's current state, as Ana did not wear her wedding ring anymore and she didn't speak of it much. Not that I spoke with her a lot privately, we were friends I suppose, but we weren't very close.

"Commander Reyes?" I focused back when I heard Bek's voice again.

"Yes, of course... let's go." I have a curt nod and motioned for the younger soldier to follow. I led the way to my shared room with Jack, Bek staying quiet the whole way. I knocked at the door gently.

"Jack...?" I called. No response. I exchanged a quick glance with Bek before opening the door.

"Jack please, I just-" I couldn't even finish my sentence because when I opened to door I saw something that made my stomach flip and my heart drop.

Blood covered the ground in a large and barely disturbed pool, but from what? Where was Jack?

"Dios... Jack?! JACK!?" I exclaimed, tearing through every room in search of my fiancé. "Fuck, oh God... he's not here. Oh shit, shit, shit. Fuck!"

"Commander Reyes What is going on?!" Bek asked worriedly.

"Cadet Luxton, go tell Captain Amari and Lieutenant Wilhelm that we must rally troops quickly! Strike Commander Morrison has been abducted!"

"What!? A-abducted! By who?" Bek stammered. And then I found it. Just as she asked, I found it. The symbol carved into the floor, a dark shield with a T adorning the front.

"Talon. Tell them now, GO!" I threw my hand out as I ordered her to go inform the others. Bek took off and I searched every last inch of the place before sliding down against the wall with my head in my hands.

I felt sick.

Was he alive or dead? He had to be alive. Talon must be using Overwatch's public figure head as leverage. What could they want now?

"What do you mean we can't send in forces?! They have Jack for fuck's sake!" I slammed my fists down on the desk.

"Going in with guns blazing is exactly what they want us to do! It's a setup and you know it, Commander!" Sojourn replied.

"So what the fuck do you suggest we do?!" I spat angrily.

"Reyes please, you have to calm down. We'll figure something out, you just have to give us a moment to think." Gérard pinched the bridge of his nose. I knew that Lacroix was somewhere in his mid to late twenties, but the stress on his face made him look much older.

"Blackwatch can go! We are capable of keeping a low profile and they've been itching for a mission. We can't just sit here and waste time, Morrison is in trouble!" I snapped at him. Before either of them could respond, we were all jarred by a static sound and turned to see a strange purple symbol had appeared on our presentation monitor that I was almost certain has been powered off thirty seconds prior.

"The hell?" Sojourn muttered, reaching for the remote. Suddenly, the symbol wen away, replaced with footage of a dark room.

"Wait!" I said quickly, reaching out to stop Sojourn. The camera focused a bit more, revealing someone tied to a chair. His had was down and his body was slumped, but I would recognize that bright blonde hair anywhere.

"Jack!" I exclaimed, as if my fiancé could hear me... Jack shifted after I said this, almost as if he had. It soon became apparent what the reason for Jack's stirring had been. A large man came into view of the camera, taking hold of Jack's golden hair in a dark fist. The man yanked Jack's head up, showing not only a face littered with blood, gashes, and bruising, but also a large bullet hole in the smaller man's torso, poorly patched up. Jack's eyes were dull and barely responsive to any of this rough manhandling.

"Say hello, Strike Commander..." the man said as he let the camera get a good shot of Jack. He then gave Jack a hard punch before letting his head drop weakly, Jack making no noise even at the violence. My heart ached and the fire of anger in my chest only grew stronger.

"Akande..." Gérard murmured.

"What? You know him?" I asked as a smaller, gloved hand waved in front of the camera. With a poke and a "Boop," the feed was cut. I spun around to face Gérard.

"You know him?!" I repeated, more intensely.

"Yes, Akande, the newest Doomfist... it's Talon alright. We just have to trace where the signal-" Gérard tried to speak but he was cut off.

"Cape Town, South Africa." We all turned in surprise to look at the source of the voice, Bek. I had honestly forgotten that she was there... not bad.

"It's Cape Town," she repeated, pressing a button on her glasses. An image projected up onto our screen of a quick search of a strange emblem. "I saw that symbol on the wall in the corner of the room. It was hard to make out with the darkness and the poor camera quality, but I found it. It's the logo of some old factory in Cape Town, see? It was abandoned years ago, so it's not in use anymore... or at least it wasn't supposed to be..."

I looked at the search in surprise as she explained, then gave her a glance.

"Good job..." I praised sort of half-heartedly before looking back at Lacroix and Rose.

"We're sending in a team. It can be small to keep things low keep, but we need to act." I stated firmly. Gérard held a look of contemplation, then sighed and glanced at Sojourn.

"He's right, we have to do something. We can't just sit idle."

"Fine," Sojourn huffed, "you can take a team. A small team, four max."

"Four is all I need." I nodded curtly, ready to leave.

"But-" Sojourn's voice made me stop and curse under my breath, "make the fourth Lacroix. He knows most about Talon and with him, you wouldn't be going in completely blind. No arguments, Commander. Three Blackwatch members are more than enough."

I grunted and motioned for Bek to follow with a jerk of my head, not saying anything more. I realized that Gérard had followed as well, which helped I guess since I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"I don't know whether to pick the fucking cowboy or the cyborg." I threw my hands up in frustration and Bek gave me a look.

"Well, I assumed you'd take both considering that I'm the newest recruit and the least experienced." She said, making me stop dead in my tracks and look at her like she was crazy.

"This is Blackwatch's first technical mission, neither of them are experienced either. I'd have to be a fool of a leader to not bring our only god damned support tank Cadet. Besides, you found that logo and in turn, the place where they're keeping Jack. You are the best first choice." I explained in an annoyed tone that I hadn't meant to have and I felt a bit bad for it. Bek nodded and then straightened up.

"Understood Commander, thank you for the opportunity. And if I may ask permission to make a suggestion?"

"Speak."

"I would choose Genji over McCree."

Of course you would, you two add enamored with each other. I wanted to quip but I held my first instinct and filtered to the more appropriate response.

"And why is that?"

"Because Genji is a ninja poised in the art of subtlety that we need most." Bek made a decent point. In all my time with both young men, Jesse's strength was... definitely not subtlety. I stroked my beard and nodded, about to agree with her when I saw Gérard wave his hand slightly.

"If I may... Yes, McCree May be less... subdued, but I'm not sure how subtle a half-Omnic, half-human could ever be. I'd fear that the Shimada boy would draw more attention." He put in.

"Perhaps, but I assume we won't be a covert ops team in the daylight... I mean, we're Blackwatch, we'd go under the guise of darkness to add to our subtle approach." Bek added before I could respond to Gerard's point.

"All due respect Lacroix but I'm with Luxton on this one." I decided, receiving a curt nod of understanding from the Frenchman.

"I respect that. I mean, she's your support tank, she should be like your right hand with a job like that." He laughed a slight exhale and Bek smiled at him.

Yes, she was a good recruit. She was quick and intelligent, a useful addition to not only Blackwatch, but to Overwatch as a whole. As the three of us searched the base for Genji and Jesse, the realization hit my hard.

Bek could be the perfect surrogate.

I realized just how insane that idea was when we finally found the other two Blackwatch members, the two talking in hushed whispers. I shook that idea out of my head when I saw Bek hurry over to Genji and Jesse, putting a hand on Genji's human arm with an affectionate smile. There was no way I could ask her to do something like that. She was still quite young and if it was the way it seemed between those two, Genji would most likely not approve of Bek giving up her body and her work for nine months. This made me wonder... could Genji ever have children now if he wanted them? Did he even have a-

Jesus Gabriel, now is not the god damned time. Fucking focus, Jack is in danger! I scolded myself. Once we got Jack back safely, then maybe we could figure this out. I knew how much Jack wanted children and it hurt me that our last conversation had been a fight over all of this. No, I would absolutely not have that be our last conversation.

"Hey Genji, hi Jesse." Bek greeted them and I had to put on a more professional face to explain the plan to them.

"Strike Commander Morrison is being held hostage by Talon in an old factory in Cape Town, South Africa. Because Lacroix is so well versed in everything Talon, he will be coming along. That leaves room for only three more members due to Sojourn's rules. After some deliberation, I have decided to choose Bek and Genji."

"What?! That's horse shit! What about me? I've been here longer than Bek." Jesse huffed, crossing his arms.

"Yes, But Bek is our support tank. She is the most important factor in our survival if something were to go wrong." I told him. Jesse grunted and muttered under his breath.

"Whatever, Boss."

"Next time Jesse, I promise." I assured him. His response simply reminded me of how young all of them still were. Jack loved the new faces, the new generation joining Overwatch. I wanted to shake all of them out of their grandiose ideas of heroism and tell them to run the other way while they still could, never looking back. Sometimes I still wanted to do that, even now.

"We'll leave by helicopter tonight. Get full stomachs and take a nap. Be ready at dusk." I said dryly. Genji and Bek dipped their heads before going off toward the cafeteria.

"See you soon, Reyes." Lacroix did the same before disappearing to go do God knows what, leaving me alone with the still disgruntled looking McCree.

"Well, good luck I guess, Boss." Jesse said, then rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sure Jack is okay... and you two better fucking make up after all this. If any of this means anything, don't waste time on your anger."

I gave him a grateful look as he said this. I knew he was right, Jack meant too much to me go ever lose him, especially after some stupid fight. I wasn't sure how to end my conversation with Jesse but found him staring absentmindedly over my shoulder. I turned to see what it was he was looking at. Fareeha and Angela were happily walking with Ana and Reinhardt, all four laughing at something said between them. Pharah was holding Angela's hand, so I could only assume that she had come out to her mother. It was nice to see that nothing had changed and now the two didn't have to hide their love any longer. Jesse sighed as I turned back to face him.

"Is everyone in this base together with someone? Damn..." he frowned. I put a comforting hand on the younger's shoulder.

"You'll find someone in time... You'll feel so strongly about them and get to enjoy all the positives and negatives of having a relationship during a war... but trust me, it's completely worth it."


	8. Chapter8

**P.O.V. Of Jack**

I had awoken in a dark, humid room to a painful pressure. Hissing in discomfort, I shot my head up, realizing there was a young man in a Talon uniform tending to the bullet wound in my chest.

"Ah, you're awake. So you do feel pain. Well, good news is, the wound seems to already be healing so I don't think I have to do much else." He said in a disinterested tone. I knew it was Talon, dammit. I had to grit my teeth at his touch and pulled at my wrist bonds. Why was I so weak? Had Ana been wrong? Was my age catching up with me after all? I used to be able to rip through stuff like this as if it were wet paper. I had silently cursed time before glaring at the Talon member.

"What the fuck do you even want with me?" I had spat, only to receive a shrug and a look of disinterest that matched his tone. I had opened my mouth to spit out another venomous response to his lack of one, but a loud metal grinding sound made us both look up towards the door.

"That... is who you can direct your questions at." The young member said, his face not shifting to reveal anything. I breathed in slowly as the door swung open to reveal a large man and a small woman carrying a bad almost as big as her. The word woman was pushing it thought, for she couldn't have been older than eighteen or twenty.

"Leave us." The man had told the younger in a booming voice. The medic had dipped his head wordlessly and ducked out as the woman took out the contents of her bag. I saw it was a camera and a tripod as she was setting it up.

"Hello Strike Commander... pleasure to meet you in person..." the man crossed his huge arms over his chest.

"What is the meaning of this? You are nothing but a bunch of horrid humans with disgusting motives that only hinder the work of Overwatch to protect not only this country, but the whole world!" I had growled at him, throwing my face forward in anger. The almost terrifyingly muscular man had chuckled low in his throat before punching me unexpectedly and hard. I let out a shocked grunt of pain, then glared at him.

"Only through conflict can we evolve, soldier. It won't matter how augmented you are, I will always best you, any of your soldiers, and every other Overwatch member. Your idea on creating a coalition of happiness and support is a foolish dream. This is a dog eat dog world, a free for all. Overwatch is foolish to waste it's time... Any more questions?"

"My team will forever be more powerful and successful than you. Order and good will always triumph over chaos and evil." I spat defensively. I could feel blood dripping down the side of my face, probably caused by one of the many rings on his hand. His response was to rock me with another punch. I held back a yelp, glaring daggers.

"Any more snide remarks, Morrison?" He asked, getting up in my face. My response was to spit blood in his. The man smirked darkly as he wiped the flecks of red off of his dark skin.

"Quite feisty for a man in his forties, aren't we? I suppose that is why you were chosen as the leader... blind fate gets you nowhere, my friend."

"My second in command and his team will find me and together we will take you and the rest of Talon down." I snapped at him, knowing full well and not caring how much I was egging him on. As I expected, I got one more fist to the face. I huffed a heavy exhaled breath and let my head drop tiredly.

"I'm going to say this very slowly... pull anything funny at all while you are here and I will kill your precious Commander Reyes." He had growled, then moved towards his teammate with the camera.

"Do it." He ordered and he was suddenly back near me, grabbing me by the hair. He yanked my head up and I just didn't have the energy to care.

"Say hello, Strike Commander..." he said, so I knew the camera was rolling without even needing to look. One more swift punch from this guy and I thought it was getting old fast. He was sending Gabe and the rest of Overwatch a message. With his threat still toning freshly in my ears, I simply let my head fall in defeat. No looking up into the camera, no crying out, no pleading eyes... I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

I had heard a quiet "Boop" from the young camera woman that told me this sick show was over as quickly as it had begun. I breathed a sigh of relief internally and just waited, not moving.

"Let's go." The punch happy man had grunted and that was how I got here, left alone in the darkness. I found myself thinking of my ridiculous fight with Gabe. God, he was completely right, we had to be patient. There was no reason to play risky games. I really did need to listen to him more. This thought bridged into a memory of my training with Gabe during our time in the SEP.

"You're sure you want to train today? You just had round four of your first set of injections, right? They say that one is the roughest of the first set and I remember that statement not being far off. You look like shit, Boy Scout, maybe you should sit this one out." Gabe said. I had only been with the SEP for a month at this point and after such an awkward first meeting with my mentor, I had promised myself to be the best I could be to impress him. Gabe had not only been set as my mentor but I also bunked with the superior soldier, which made for some embarrassing nights. I was almost certain that he must have heard me puking my guts out the night prior, which was probably the reason for his concern.

"No, I'm fine. I feel fine, let's do this." I had told him as I pulled my shirt on.

"Whatever you say, 76." He shrugged and the two of us made our way through the SEP's maze of hallways that I still managed to get lost in, even after four weeks of being here. I caught Gabe staring at me as we walked to the training area.

"You've been here for a month and you still get that deer in the headlights look whenever you try to navigate these halls." My mentor had said with one of his signature and heartwarming laughs that anyone would say were not heard enough. This caused a blush to rise up on my cheeks, which I'm sure stood out even brighter against my sickly pale skin I had seen this morning when I had looked in the mirror.

"Don't worry so much, you get used to it. I remember it was a little rough for me too but I wasn't fortunate enough to have an awesome, sexy, smart mentor like you do." He grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"Careful 24, may pull a muscle carrying around that giant fucking ego." I remarked sarcastically, using his number like he had just done to me. This wisecrack of mine resulted in another one of his quick bouts of laughter that made it hard not to smile myself.

"Ahaha, I like you. Not sure if I've said that yet, but hey... There ya go." He tasseled my hair, suddenly making me feel so much more than just three years younger than him. I dropped away from him and gave him an indignant shove, to such my mentor pretended to be offended. We both shared a laugh this time and soon we were in the training wing. There were only two other pairs of soldiers there, so I guess Gabe had been right... most of my unit would not be participating in training today. I pushed aside my body's complaints, telling myself I had to use this chance to pass my other unit mates and work my absolute hardest.

Gabe and I kept away from the others and sparred together. I could tell by the effort present on my mentors face that he wasn't holding back on me and my body could tell as well. Every muscle screamed in protest but I pushed all the warning signs of exhaustion out of my mind. One minute I was blocking strikes from Gabe, the next I was staring up at the ceiling with the sound of Gabe and I kept away from the others and sparred together. I could tell by the effort present on my mentors face that he wasn't holding back on me and my body could tell as well. Every muscle screamed in protest but I pushed all the warning signs of exhaustion out of my mind. One minute I was blocking strikes from Gabe, the next I was staring up at the ceiling with the sound of muddled voices in my ears.

"76? Morrison?! JACK!"

I had woken up in the middle bay with Gabe sitting beside me. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Gabriel?" His name came out strangled due to my dry and scratchy throat, but it was somehow still enough of a sound to get him to open his eyes.

"Morrison? Ay Dios, debería matarte." He massaged his temples.

"What?" I asked because I didn't understand Spanish.

"Nothing, don't ever fucking do that again. You always have to take it down a notch when you train after injections. God, why didn't you just listen to me?" When I didn't answer, he continued. "I'm not here to blow fucking smoke up your ass, kid. The SEP decided to give new recruits an older mentor that was already experienced in this shit for a reason and no, it's not just so they learn the fucking facility. It's so shit like this doesn't happen! I had a buddy from the war who joined the SEP with me. you know what happened to him?"

I realized he was staring at me as if expecting an answer, so I meekly shook my head. Gabe stood up quickly, looking intense.

"Me either! No one does! He went missing after the fifth round of shots, the ones that makes you super delirious... No one ever found him. And then another kid fucking died. Had an aneurysm during a sparring session and some guy hit him so hard that he had a brain bleed. Maybe not all the bad shit that goes on here can be avoided but I know that some of it can. That's why they instituted this fucking buddy policy and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to you, not on my watch!" I could feel the passion and Gabe's voice and it made me realize that this was the most I had ever heard him speak in one sitting. I really hadn't known what to say.

I wasn't sure exactly when Gabe had fallen for me but that had definitely helped me see just how deep his mind was, despite what he let people think by his outward appearance. I always loved seeing that side of him. It was rare but I knew it was real.


	9. Chapter9

**P.O.V. Of Gabe**

It took nearly a full twenty-four hours to get to Cape Town if the stop we'd made was factored in. Everyone, including our pilot Fio, was clearly exhausted. After pinpointing the factory below, Fio found a safe point to land so the four of us could get off.

"Thanks Fio, I think I speak for all of us when I say we're glad we didn't have to parachute out." Lacroix stated. I nodded.

"Christ yes, stay in radio distance. Here's to hoping that this will go as quickly and as painlessly as possible..." motioned for my three squad mates to follow.

"You got it, Commander." Fio replied as we left.

Soon we were within visible distance of the factory. Even in the dark I could see that there were Talon troopers guarding it, their bright red helmets glinting in the fresh moonlight.

"There's got to be at least eighteen of them," back breathed out quietly, " why so many?"

"Who knows... We can handle them. Jack is definitely in there somewhere. Lacroix, where are you going to-" I turned and saw that the Frenchman I have been trying to address was already gone.

"What the-" I murdered and saw Genji pointing off to the left. Bear, perched atop a building probably no more than two hundred feet away from the factory, was Gérard.

"He's fucking quick," I snorted.

"I've set my aim on the middle right member, on your call, I'll start this." Gérard's voice came crackling through my earpiece.

"Give us sixty seconds to get close, then do it." I ordered, then looked to Bek and Genji. "Genji, I know your style so you do you. Bek, stay close to me. Got it? Genji, come back to us if you start getting overwhelmed."

"Understood." Genji dipped his head curtly.

"Got it, Commander." Bek added, a look of pure determination on her face.

"Then here we go." I pulled my shotguns out, as did Bek. Genji bolted towards the factory like lightning, almost invisible.

"Focus any that you see trying to flee inside, other than that, just do your thing." I told Bek as we sprinted side by side.

I watched as the Talon guard that Lacroix had said he locked on dropped and all hell broke loose from there. The other guards soon noticed Genji as he attacked the other two who had been near Lacroix's target.

"Go!" I ordered Bek, who stomped her shield of life. Under the temporary protection, I shot with her at the second group. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Genji using his katana to deflect some bullets back at the Talon guard and I heard another shot from Lacroix's rifle before seeing another go down. I took this moment to sneak out from the cover of Bek's shield to blast two more in the face. Bek shot a fleeing Talon guard before hitting a button on her glasses.

"Retracting the shield to recharge, come to me for healing!" She called out. One more shot from Gérard, one less guard.

"Ryūjin no ken wo kurae!" Genji yelled out in Japanese, the only thing I recognized because it always came right before his blade lit up green with his Dragonstrike ability. I rolled out of his way as he went crazy. Bek shot him with glimmering light energy that I could only assume were her healing bullets.

"Genji, look out!" Bek exclaimed as his sword faded. She got closer to him and got him safely inside the shield just in time to have bullets bounce away. I Saw a group of new guards coming from inside the factory and decided that it was now or never. I threw myself in the middle of all of them while Genji and Bek were under the safety of Bek's shield.

"Clearing the area!" I barked, spinning around and peppering the surrounding Talon troops with bullets.

"Sniper! She's on you!" Bek's voice came but I could barely hear it over the sound of the blood pulsing in my ears. "My shield's failing!"

"Watch out, Commander!" Genji put in. I looked up to see that a Talon sniper had indeed to set her sights on me.

"Shit!" I cursed, taking a bullet. I hissed in pain but as I reopened my eyes that I instinctively closed, I realized I had only been hit in the shoulder instead of what was most likely meant to be my head. The sniper had been headshot right as she pulled the trigger.

Lacroix has saved me.

"Commander!" Bek's voice sounded as if it was underwater and when everything came back into focus I realized my shoulder was spurting blood. Numb with shock, I raised my opposite hand up in a feeble attempt to block the flow as Bek closed her shield and raced over. The next thing I remember was being suddenly on my back, staring up at the inky blackness of the night sky.

"I think the stream is coming from his subclavian artery, considering the pressure. That would mean the bullet most likely shattering his clavicle and the artery could be simply nicked or completely severed. He could bleed out from anywhere between two to twenty minutes and I'd be betting on closer to two because I won't be able to put pressure on the artery to compress it because of his fucking clavicle." I heard her say, voice full of stress.

"You said his clavicle is probably broken, you still can't compress it...?" I heard from Gérard. When did he get back down here?

"Broken or not, I can't be sure so I'd rather not take my chances! Lacroix, radio Fio. Tell her she needs to come get as close to our coordinates as possible to load Commander Reyes up and get him to the nearest hospital." Bek ordered, doing something to my shoulder.

"But... J-Jack!" I stammered, feeling my body shaking.

"Shit, you're right... Genji. With all the guards gone do you think you can handle finding Morrison inside? We don't know who else is in there." Bek sighed, trying to position me in such a way. Gérard radioed for Fio and I heard Genji dash off, so he must have been willing to try and get Jack to safety.

"She's on her way, Luxton."

"Thank you. Now help me sit Reyes up, by the blood pooling underneath him, I'd say we have an exit wound."

I felt two sets of hands on me, pulling and pushing me into a sitting position. Then the sound of helicopter blades.

"There she is, let's flag her down!"

"Lacroix, be careful!"

Then suddenly no more hands. I almost slumped forward but I swore I saw a young woman with short hair.

"¿Qué onda?" I swore I heard her whisper and as quickly as I thought I saw her, she was soon gone. I translated the Mexican slang in my hand and must have blurred it out weakly in English.

"What's up?" I croaked, then hands were on me again and I heard Bek's voice.

"Fio is here, we're getting you into the helicopter. Careful Lacroix, that bandage isn't right and it's already drenched."

"Gabe!? GABE!" Jack's voice was the clearest thing in my ears among an otherwise fuzzy surrounding world.

"Jack..." I managed, but not loudly.

"Strike Commander please remain calm, we need to get him to the hospital. Let's go Genji." Bek replied. I was being lifted into the helicopter and after a minute, I felt a hand tightly grasp mine.

"You're gonna be okay... it's all going to be okay." It was Jack, his hand, his comforting words. I tried to speak, to apologize for our fight but I was unable to find words.

"Stay with me, Commander! You aren't dying on me! Not on our first mission, dammit!" I heard Bek from above me but I couldn't tell exactly from where, more could I see her. I tried to laugh, feeling the retort I wanted to say to her fall dead off my lips, probably like I would be soon. All I wanted was to be able to comfort my fiancé. I couldn't see his face either, for everything seemed to be getting dark and foggy, but I could tell by his voice and his grip on my hand that he was absolutely terrified.

You aren't getting rid of me that easy. I thought as I tried to smile but it probably wasn't a good one. Don't even dream of it.

My vision continues to fade until soon I was inside memories, specifically the one I had been thinking of when I had lost consciousness... the memory of my first SEP deployment with Jack as my underling. He has only been with us for five and a half months and only had two more rounds of his last set of shots. The kid had filled out quite well and pretty much looked just like the rest of us. I knew full well that he was a fan favorite because of that boyish charm that even twenty-four injections couldn't seem to kill. Well, twenty-two at that point. All my unit mates loved Jack and came to talk with us all the time and whenever Jack wasn't with me they'd always ask where the Golden Boy was. If we had all known about Overwatch's formation then, we'd all have predicted that Jack Morrison would someday be the leader with a personality like his.

I'll never forget what we had been doing when I got called to the emergency meeting. It has been way too long since the last SEP deployment. Six months and three weeks to be exact, so Jack has yet to experience live combat. We had been in a training simulation when I got the call.

"Nice roll! Block the explosion, yes!" I praised Jack as he grabbed the child sized dummy rolled with it, protecting it from a fake explosion. He was so much quicker than he has been the first time we'd done this exercise four months prior. Jack popped up off the ground cleanly, his chest rising and falling heavy with exertion.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, really good," I checked my stopwatch, "shaved almost thirty seconds off your first time. Not bad, Soldier."

I winked but I didn't get the time to fully appreciate the normal blush of his that always resulted when I complimented him, as my cell began to ring. I retrieved it from its place on my belt and turned away when I answered.

"24- Reyes here."

"Main atrium, now. Come fully prepared." The voice answered me, then hung up before I could say anything more. I turned back to Jack, who was staring at me expectantly.

"Looks like it's time for your first deployment, Boy Scout." I smirked and motioned for him to follow. Luckily, both of us were fully geared up and ready for anything.

Well... just about anything.

We were sent into an active zone, tasked with the job of helping with evacuation of civilians in a small area of New York that was currently being attacked by Omnics. We'd been stuffed into an army vehicle with four other soldiers and I still remember the look of nervousness on my apprentice's face. I tapped his knee comfortingly.

"No worries, we've got this. You know what you're doing, just follow your instincts." I had told him.

We had hit the ground running straight out of the van, an insane multitude of people in need. I watched as one of the other pairs ran off to stop an Omnic from attacking a bus full of people. The second pair joined them and I was about to tell Jack to follow when the blonde called out to me in a panic.

"Gabe!

I shot my head in his direction to see him already running in the direction of a toddler lying injured in amongst the debris, an Omnic standing over her.

"My baby!" I saw a young mother about to run towards them, so I grabbed her and held her back.

"Ma'am no! My partner will get her, you're injured, you can't move that arm!" I said, holding her against my chest.

" ma'am no! My partner will get her, you're injured, you can't move that arm!" I said, holding her against my chest.

"Oh God, Rebekah!" The woman screamed. I watched with my chest tight as Jack shot his helix rockets into the OR-15 unit. This seemed to distract it long enough for Jack to get to the girl and shield her with his body.

"Gabe!" Jack shouted.

"Don't move!" I advised of the woman, then ran forward to help my partner. I produced my shotguns from my coat and sent several consecutive blasts into the OR-15. This made it back up slightly.

"Go, go, go!" I yelled at Jack, who held the toddler's body protectively in his arms. The younger soldier sprinted towards the mother as I kept the Omnic busy. A couple more shorts and I realized I had only one bullet left. With the OR-15 down, I set the final shot through its head. The Omnic's head was destroyed, leaving behind a glitching pile of wires atop the frame as it fell down, motionless... seemingly as dead as a tin can could be. I turned and started back towards Jack and the mother-daughter pair. I remember the mother's scream as Jack handed her the toddler, then Jack's sad eyes glance at me. The sad eyes had then gone wide.

"Reyes!" He called out. Before I could even react, I'd felt a burning hot pain searing my back. I remember looking down and seeing the tip of an orange-red blade protruding from my abdomen for a split second before being yanked back out.

"No!!" Jack's cry had gotten the attention of our four other squad mates. I remember seeing them aiming at something behind me and Jack running towards me before I collapsed, falling forward on the pavement.

When I had woken up I was in the SEP infirmary with Jack sitting beside me. I smiled weakly as I recalled the roles having been reversed just a few months prior.

"The kid?" Were the first words out of my mouth, startling the unsuspecting soldier to attention.

"Oh God, Gabriel. She's alright... had to get her right foot amputated but she's alive." Jack replied, then wiped a tear from his cheek and moved closer to me. "Dammit Gabe, you scared me so badly. I thought you were dead."

I smirked again and waved my head with slightly weak dismissiveness.

"You aren't getting rid of me that easy. Don't even dream of it." I joked. Jack gave me a slight glare before that signature blush of his crept up and he grabbed my hand gently.

"I never would..." he muttered with soft embarrassment. For a moment I had been surprised by this show of affection, for I hadn't felt physical contact in such a long time... but when I felt the warmth in my chest, I had given him a smile and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Good."

The recollection began to fade but the feeling of a hand touching mine did not. I soon realized that I was coming to, my eyes opening. It was very disorienting fight after being inside those memories, but I remembered the Blackwatch mission and my injury.

"Oh Gabe... you're awake, thank God." Jack's voice helped me focus in. We were in a foreign looking hospital room, not the SEP med bay or the familiar Overwatch base's medical wing. And then it hit me...

"Dios Mio."


	10. Chapter10

**P.O.V. Of Jack**

Gabe has just woken up and the first thing he had said was one of the few Spanish phrases of his that I had heard enough to learn.

_My God._

And the look on his barely conscious face was one of shock, which frightened me.

"What is it, Gabe? Are you alright?" I sat up quickly, worry filling my chest.

"Bek..." was all he managed.

"Cadet Luxton? What about her?" I asked. Gabe struggled, looking as if he was trying to sit up. With his injured arm in a sling, it proved too much for him and all he succeeded in was hissing in pain. I grabbed the remote that controlled the bed he was in and handed it to him.

"Be careful, you can't move that shoulder. They had to do an emergency invasive surgery to repair your dissected subclavian artery and your shattered clavicle I think you're gonna be in that sling for a while, even considering our elevated healing for the program. Here, use this if you want to be in a sitting position." I explained to him. Gabe took the remote and got himself more comfortable before trying to speak again.

"The program..." He rasped, so I got him a drink of water.

"Yes, you were in surgery for several hours. You were intubated, hence the scratchy throat. Here..." I held the cup as he sipped from the straw. What could he be trying to tell me?

"Jack... do you remember your first SEP mission?" Gabe coughed. I set the cup down and then nodded as I stroked his scruffy cheek comfortingly.

"The one where we were deployed to that New York town to help evacuate people, yeah. How could I forget the first time you almost died on me? Why? Reminiscing on that last near death experience?" I gave a slight laugh and Gabe grunted.

"No, the girl. Do you remember the girl that you saved...?" He asked. After a moment, I nodded, my brow furrowing.

"Yeah, I remember... why? What does Bek have to do with that?"

"I... think that little girl... was Bek." Gabe said gravelly. My eyes went wide.

"What? That's crazy... that was..." I tried to say but Gabe cut me off, his voice a bit stronger with more effort.

"Think about it... we were in New York. Bek said she was from the SEP's New York division. She's got that prosthetic and that kid... I remember you telling me that she had to get her foot amputated, the same one Bek is missing..." he said with intensity.

"But that was like twenty years ago and Bek's file said she was twenty-two... oh my God." I realized the validity of Gabe's claim and my mouth dropped open. Before either of us could say anything else, a soft voice sounded.

"I didn't think you remembered me..."

Gabe and I both looked at the doorway to see Bek standing in the doorway. I stood up but didn't move, staring at the young SEP soldier because I wasn't sure what to do. She took a step inside the hospital room and let the door fall closed behind her.

"But... I don't understand. Bek... why didn't you say anything?" I asked and she shrugged.

"I don't know... I guess because it was so long ago. I mean, I don't remember it because I was so young obviously but my mom always told me to be grateful to the two men who saved my life. She hasn't gotten your names but she told me the story a couple hundred times. Two soldiers, one blonde and kind, the other dark haired and strong... both brave. She said she was sad that she never got to thank you two. But when I was sixteen, we saw Jack on TV doing some speech for Overwatch... fourteen years after you saved me and my mom still instantly recognized you. I remember the excitement in her voice as she called for me. 'That's him Bekah Boo. That is one of the men that saved you... the one that held you in his arms and brought him to me.' She had said. So, from that day on... I knew your name and learned everything I could about you and about the SEP and Overwatch. I told my mom that someday I would be a SEP soldier and also join Overwatch to meet you... both of you. My mom always wanted to know the name of the brooding one who took a blade to protect me... and now I know." Bek wiped a tear from her eye. "I guess when I finally made it into Overwatch and met you both, I panicked. I mean, twenty years is such a long time and you two were both Commanders now with so much on your plate. I thought there was no way you'd remember one kid you saved when you've saved hundreds of lives. I suppose just working beside you was enough for me."

A lump of emotion rose up in my throat and I felt like I was about to well up too. I had never had anything like this happen... to get to meet a person that I saved after the fact. To see what an amazing woman Bek had turned into and to know that I had a hand in it... and a hand in her desire to serve and protect. It was too much. Pride swelled inside me and I couldn't stop myself from striding over to her and pulling her into a tight embrace. Bek buried her head into my chest and I felt her body shake with quiet sobs.

"Those better be happy tears, dammit." I said through my own, then I heard the sound of Gabe attempting to clear his throat.

"Will you two get over here? Don't leave me out of this... hero over here too." He tried to joke to mask what I could tell was an emotional rasp in his voice instead of just the result of his intubation. Bek pulled away and looked up at me with a laugh, wiping her eyes again. I did the same and we both went over to Gabe. We did an awkward three way huh since he was in the hospital bed still.

"I seriously don't know what I could ever do to repay you..." Bek said.

"You saved my life, Cadet... and you were part of the mission to save Jack... you are in no debt to us." Gabe said gruffly.

"Yes, but that was me doing my job... I feel like you deserve so much more..."

"We were just doing our jobs too, Bek." I told her. Suddenly, she pulled away from the embrace, a look of seriousness on her face.

"Wait... I know. Jesse and Genji and I that you two were looking for ways to have a kid, right? What better way to repay you for giving me a full chance of life... than giving you a chance to make a life."

"Bek... we could never-" I tried to argue but the young woman stopped me.

"Strike Commander... please. When I had come to Overwatch and discovered that you and Commander Reyes, the two men who saved my life, were now together and wanted a family... I was so happy for you two. I want you two to be able to get everything you wish for... and that is actually something I can do for you. Please... let me do this." She said, that familiar fire in her eyes.

"But... what about Genji?" Gabe asked.

"He knows all about my history as I do his. If he truly cares for me, he will understand what this means to me. He said himself that you two would make great parents. Actually... both him and Jesse see you as more of a father figure to them than their own fathers... and I agree. Jack... Gabriel, I want to do this." She replied. I looked at my fiancé with freshly wet eyes.

"Oh my God... Gabe, we can actually do it. We can have a baby!" I was overwhelmed with happiness but Gabe gave me a look of seriousness.

"Let's wait until I recover to start this, okay? Which reminds me, how are you feeling?" His hand went to the area that I had been shot. In the day and some change that I had been in there, my body had healed over it almost fully. I lifted my shift to show him the only thing that remained was a light pink scar.

"Okay, good..." he murmured.

"Hopefully you'll heal quickly too." I said.

"Jack... even when I do, you're one hundred percent sure you want to bring a child into the world on an army base during a war?" Gabe asked.

"Ana did it..." I pointed out.

"Yes and look at what it did to her and Sam."

"You and I both know that Ana was never really in love with Sam..." I sighed. Our friend seemed to care strongly for Reinhardt, as he clearly did her as well. When Ana has met Reinhardt and the rest of us, she had been married to the Canadian man named Sam. Their daughter Fareeha was only a child when the second Crisis began and one Christmas, Ana went home to be with her family. None of us knew the whole story but when Ana returned to the base she was without her wedding ring and instead with Fareeha. We never questioned her, as she didn't falter on her Captain abilities and Fareeha, who has been six or seven when she arrived, was quickly accepted and loved. Reinhardt basically took on the role of her father and it wasn't until she was fifteen that she went to visit her father Sam again. Fareeha was very close with Reinhardt as her mother was, yet no one knew or asked what Ana and Reinhardt's relationship actually was.

"Point being," Gabe's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, "it won't be easy."

"Since when is anything we deal with easy?" I laughed a bit. "But I think it will be worth it."

"Anything for you, _mi amor_. We can talk to Angela and Moira about it when we get back to base. Speaking of... when can we go?" Gabe gave my hand a squeeze. Bek smiled at us.

"That's actually what I was coming to tell you. I convinced them to let me transfer you back to base. It'll be a long trip but we believe you're stable enough. We'll leave tomorrow morning." Bek informed us. Gabe and I nodded.

"Thank you, Bek... for everything." I said. She shook her head.

"No, thank you. I'll leave you two to rest now. I have to go find Genji and Lacroix to talk to them." She dipped her head and was gone.

It had been a few months since the Talon issue and Gabe's injury. He had healed well and, much to my dismay, had begun his work with Moira again. I still didn't know for sure what side effects he was dealing with and it scared me. I knew that I had to talk to him.

"How are things going with Moira?" I finally asked him one morning while we were getting ready. I was leaning up against the doorframe of the bathroom door, watching my fiancé shaving. He was shirtless and I found my eyes wandering his body worriedly, checking for any sign of physical changes.

"Fine." Gabe reply was flat and I frowned because I know I had to push him.

"Really...? Because I remember the things you said to her... part of what causes our fight. So, what side effects are you dealing with?" I took a step closer to him.

"Nothing that I can't handle, Jack... will you please drop it?"

"I don't understand. If this is putting you in any sort of danger, you need to stop."

"I can't stop." He wouldn't even look at me.

"Why? What do you have to gain from this crazy work?"

"I know how you feel but it's not crazy." He argued, making me cross my arms over my chest.

"Really? Because who exactly is this helping?" I asked, a bit more snarky than I meant to. Gabe slammed the razor down on the counter and turned to me, annoyed.

"My family, dammit! I'm doing this for Luisa!" He shouted.

"What?" I took a step back.

"You know my family's history. Our mother died of cancer, then Luisa got the same type. She fought it off but I thought maybe with Moira's research... if I let Moira do all this shit to study my genes, that she could find some component to the cancer and help figure out if there's a way to keep it from coming back for Luisa. But after all these experiments and tests, all Moira has determined is that she would need Luisa here to know for certain because siblings or not, our DNA is not the same." He sighed, putting his head in his hands. His exhaustion was clearly evident on his face and my heart ached.

"Oh Gabe..." I moved forward and pulled him into a hug. "So... bring Luisa here."

"What?" He asked, pulling away to look me in the eyes.

"If this will help Luisa, invite her here."


	11. Chapter 11

**P.O.V. Of Gabe**

"It's okay, don't be nervous." Jack slipped his hand into mine as we stood by the helipad waiting for my sister's arrival.

"Nervous? I'm not nervous." I shook my head and Jack squeezed my hand.

"It's okay if you are... I know you said you're worried about her medically but I think this is the best place for her to be. With family... you. Angela and Moira are good doctors and Luisa will be in good hands." Jack murmured.

"That's not the only thing I'm worried about..."

"Then you admit that you are." Jack have me a teasing smile for a moment, "So what is it?"

"Luisa doesn't know about us... or about me, at all..." I frowned and Jack's look of teasing changed to one of surprise.

"Oh God, Gabe, why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" I huffed. The wind whipped up around us as the helicopter appeared in the sky, preparing to make the landing. Jack pulled his hand out of mine as we watched. That made my frown only deepen as the reality of our situation was sinking in. My sister was now here and I had to hide my relationship from her like a closeted teenager. My fucking engagement to a man that I loved was something I should be able to share with my family... I was just too scared of what Luisa would say.

Fio stepped out of the footer and helped my sister down.

"Gabi!" My sister hurried over and I smiled, catching her in an embrace.

"Hey Lu... great to see ya."

"Good to see you, too! Thank you for asking me to come, I've missed you. The letters just aren't enough." My sister pulled away from our hug and blew a wisp of her short hair out of her eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry... things are always pretty wild here. Oh, this is Strike Commander Jack Morrison." I said. Luisa grinned up at Jack and stuck her hand out for him to shake.

"Of course, I recognize you from TV, so nice to finally meet you." She replied. Jack smiled back at her, shaking the hand offered to him.

"You as well. Would you like us to show you where you'll be staying while you're with us?"

"That would be lovely, thank you."

I saw Fio taking two bags out of the helicopter so I moved to help her with them.

"I'll take those for you. Thanks a lot, Fio." Our young pilot dipped her head and we took Lu and her bags to her room.

I set Luisa's bags down as she looked around the room.

"It's a bit small, I know... but you can decorate it in any way you want to personalize and uh, my room is right down the hall if you need me. Meals are served in the cafeteria between 6am and 9am, 12pm and 3pm, and 6pm to 9pm. Any other hours, it's still open but only cold choices are available. We can show you around once you get settled. How about we meet you back here at four, after training? We can get you familiarized with the base and introduce you to Moira and Angela." I told her and my sister nodded.

"The room is great, don't worry. And yes, that works fine. Good luck in your training, Gabi." She gave me one more hug and for one moment, I felt like a little kid again, in the comforting arms of my older sister.

"Thanks Lu, see you later." I told her and Jack and I went to meet the others.

It was weird to get back into training because in the couple months it had taken me to recover, Jack and Reinhardt has taken two troops of SEP soldiers to Germany without me. It had been a rough time being away from Jack but I was able to hear updates daily. Together with the German and Russian armies, Jack and Reinhardt's troops were able to fight back the Omnic advances and had returned home seven weeks later.

Today was my first time back to training and I was a tad worried to face everyone. I didn't want all of them to treat me any different.

"Gabi?" Jack's snickering voice brought be back into focus.

"Excuse me?"

"Gabi. The nickname your sister uses... and you complain about me calling you Gabe." Jack have me a gentle shoulder against my non-injured side. I had noticed ever since my injury, Jack always stood or walked on the opposite side, as if avoiding the other side, even now that it was healers. It made me feel weak.

"Don't you dare. I know, Gabi is a fucking girl's name... but it's just what Lu got used to calling me. She is the only one I let call me that and even then, I don't like it." I said defensively.

"Oh, yeah you do! Just like you love it when I call you Gabe." Jack teased. I grunted, not giving him any verbal response. Jack shook his head with a smile before he continued onto another topic. "All joking aside, you don't have to do much in training today. There is just actually a soldier I want you to meet."

"An SEP soldier?" I asked.

"No, just a... well, I'm not really sure where she came from because she seems a bit uncomfortable talking about her past... but i've seen her work and thought she may be a useful addition to Blackwatch, even if just as a backup." Jack explained and I huffed. He gave me a look before speaking more.

"She's a ranged soldier and with what happened, it made me realize that Lacroix is not an actual Blackwatch member, so you need one that can watch the rest of your backs if ever needed on any specific missions."

"So she's a sniper."

"Not exactly... but it's in her realm of abilities."

"What?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and shack motioned for me to relax.

"Just come on... she's waiting for us."

I followed my fiancé to the training hall and when we entered I saw a very small, young woman standing there waiting.

"Hello Cadet Hope." Jack greeted her and the woman saluted.

"Strike Commander Morrison."

"Gabe this is Cadet Alex Hope. Alex, this is Commander Reyes of Blackwatch."

Cadet Hope held out a hand, which I shook.

"Yes, I've heard so much about you from my roommate, Bek Luxton. It is very nice to meet you." She replied.

"And you, Cadet." So, what makes you different from any others who wish to join Blackwatch?" I asked. It was then that I saw the bow slung across her back and the quiver full of arrows at her waist.

"Care to show him, Cadet Hope?" Jack asked.

"Of course..." she took an elastic hair tie from her wrist and used it to tie back her long black hair then removed the bow from her back and knocked an arrow. Before I even had time to see what she was aiming at, Alex swung around in the blink of an eye. In one fluid moment she pulled back the arrow and released it, the weapon flying into the direct center of a bullseye target forty feet away. Not bad... but I rose an eyebrow at her when she turned back to Jack and I.

"Am I supposed to be impressed by a blatant safety risk?" I asked, "How are you sure no one else had come in? What if they had gotten in the way? Speed isn't everything."

Alex did not seem at all fazed by my questions and only stand up straighter.

"Hypervigilance, Sir. I am always physically and mentally aware of my surroundings. A moment cannot be wasted by a country sweep of the area every time I am so I taught myself to do it subconsciously over time. It's much cleaner." I couldn't argue with that exclamation. She was right, her farm was much cleaner and quicker than any other archer I had encountered. I still had more questions before I made any hasty decisions. Blackwatch ranks had to retain their small size as well as their confidentiality.

"Yes... and how exactly do you manage such fast shots when precision is most naturally a careful and tedious process?"

"I have trained in archery for over ten years and I have gotten to the point where my heart rate and respirations are lower because I conditioned myself that way." She said.

"Ten years... and how old are you?" I asked. She looked at me firmly.

"Nineteen, Sir."

"And do you have any actual experience with live combat?" At this question, she got a faraway look in her eyes.

"Yes Sir." She replied simply. I decided her personal history was not a requirement.

"Okay." I stated. Cadet Hope looked from me, to Jack, and back.

"Wait... 'okay' as in, you'll take her into Blackwatch?" Jack tried to confirm with his question.

"Only for special missions where I deem it necessary for a sniper... but yes." I said, then stuck my hand out to shake hers one more time. "Welcome to Blackwatch, Cadet Hope."

"Thank you Commander Reyes, I will do my best." She said with a respectful nod.

"Great. Now go find Cadets Luxton, McCree, and Shimada for me and bring them here." I ordered.

"Yes Sir." And She was gone in a blink. I turned to Jack.

"Why do you insist on new Blackwatch members? Four was fine."

"Perhaps, but if Moira and Angela get back to us soon on whatever they're researching, Bek could be ready to surrogate for us. Once she gets pregnant, you'll need a replacement temporarily." Jack smiled at me.

"Yes, but Bek is a support tank. Alex is a ranged damage... not the best replacement option. I'd rather another one of the SEP's hybrids." I groaned.

"Sorry, they're all a bit more temperamental than Bek and had to be sent back to the SEP facility for more testing after some issues in Germany."

"All of them?"

"There were only three others." Jack said. I didn't bother to ask what kind of issues, just was silently grateful that somehow, Bek's body had no problems with the whole hybrid thing. What about her was different? Her foot? This made me wonder where are the other three hybrids kept their shields. I put two into together myself and decided to her foot? This made me wonder where are the other three hybrids kept their shields. I put two into together myself and decided the shields had probably been the issue shields had probably been the issue. Luckily, all of the Crusaders were what the hybrids were partially based on so they were safest to malfunction in Germany of all places.

"If only four of the SE peas 101 through 200 batch was the hybrid, what were the others?" I focused back in to ask Jack.

"Well, no. Perio luckily, all of the Crusaders were what the hybrids were partially based on so they were safest to malfunction in Germany of all places.

"If only four of the SEP's 101 through one 200 batch was the hybrid, what were the others?" I focused back in to ask Jack.

"Well, no... remember they only sent us fifteen, sixteen if you count Bek since she came first. Bek had said some of the first batch of hybrids didn't work out and she's Soldier: 121, so I assume 101 through 120 were the... not so successful batch. If I remember correctly, the fifteen sent to us were 122 through 136, of somewhere between 122 and 140 because I think it said four were lost in their SEP injections or training." Jack calculated.

"So there are still like 60 soldiers we haven't received yet? And so if only four out of the sixteen were hybrids, what else do we have?" I asked.

" The other 12 our regular damage soldiers. Reinhardt and I took all of them to Germany and they all did well. As for the other 141 through 200, you've got me... I have no idea what the SEP is doing or when we might see more soldiers, but if any of the hybrids come back or we get new ones, I can send one your way for a temporary replacement while Bek is unable to perform her Blackwatch abilities." Jack assured me. I sighed. I didn't want a replacement, I wanted Bek. She had proved herself quite well during Cape Town and she gelled nicely with the team... but I could be just a tad biased considering... well, everything. She and Gérard has saved me life. I suppose the cost of losing Bek temporarily would be worth it in the end.

"Alright... you're staying to help me oversee their training I assume." I said.

"Of course."

"You know, I don't need you to babysit me anymore, Boy Scout. My shoulder is fine, has been for at least a week. Everyone's been so fucking careful around me."

Before Jack could respond, my four members approached and I stiffened myself to be "Commander appropriate" once again.

"Okay, start with twenty laps from me to the south wall, go!"


End file.
